


Fanganronpa: A New Season

by thatoneguy22



Series: Fanganronpa: The Series [5]
Category: Danganronpa
Genre: Fangan Ronpa, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-02-02 09:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 45
Words: 92,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12724065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoneguy22/pseuds/thatoneguy22
Summary: Welcome, boys and girls, to an all new season of killing games! Be ready for sorrow, heart break, and hope to shine through it all! The bloodshed will be gorey and gruesome as always for all to enjoy! The chills, thrills, and kills are back for more!





	1. Prologue: Part I

I guess you could just say I was average. I only had the occasional weird thing happen to me that happened to every other kid. I had standard hobbies and interests for a high school boy. I got decent grades but I didn’t exactly excel at anything. I guess moving from America to Japan is something, but plenty of other kids have gone through similar things, even if I had never met them.

I guess my name is a little odd. I mean, come on, Ark Rogers? Who names their kid Ark? I looked pretty average, too. A shirt striped with blue and black. A pair of blue jeans and red sneakers. My hair was a soft brown and a little messy, but nothing a comb couldn’t fix. I was just...average.

So when I woke up, completely alone, in a bedroom I didn’t recognize as my own, I was pretty shocked and confused. But maybe even the most unordinary teenager would be. I wouldn’t know that answer. Not right now, anyway.

I sat up slowly when I had finally come to. At first, I had expected to be in my own bedroom in my own house and probably being late for school. But I wasn’t. The bed, with its soft blanket and nicely fluffed pillows, wasn’t mine. The cheap looking wardrobe and nightstand weren’t either. The walls were painted a plain blue and the lights were on. There wasn’t much in this average-looking bedroom but I knew it wasn’t mine.

I slowly slide out of bed and stand up. The one odd thing in the room would be the large screen with a camera on top above my door.

I try to stay calm as I head over to the door and open it a little. I peek outside. The hallways were painted green. Sixteen other doors lined the walls, eight in either side. That put mine at the end of the hall. The hallway seemed to break off into two directions, one to the left and one to the right. It probably circled around. There was a door at the break in the hall. I think it was an elevator.

I slowly slip out of my room and glance around nervously. “H-Hello..?” I call out. “Is anybody there..?” I don’t receive an answer so I begin walking.

A door opens as I start to walk past and I jump a little, looking at it with wide eyes.

Someone pokes their head out. They wore a black mask with a long beak and cracked goggles. A wide brim hat sat on their head. “Um...e-excuse me...do you know where we are?” His voice was deep and gravelly, but very meek and nervous.

I shake my head a little bit. “No...sorry, I just woke up.”

The boy nervously drums his fingers on the door. “A-Are you from the school..?” he asks me.

“What school..?” I ask him in return. I don’t think he was talking about my school.

He was quiet for a moment. “...n-nevermind then. Would you, uh, like to look around together?”

“Yeah, sure. I don’t see why not,” I say.

He nods a bit and steps out of his room. He stood tall, towering over me. He had on a heavy overcoat that dropped to his ankles. There was a small posey in the pocket. He wore leather gloves, long pants, and black dress shoes. I couldn’t see any skin. He had a long scythe strapped to his back. I think it was real.

“Uh...what’s up with that?” I point to his scythe.

He glances at it before looking back at me. “G-Goes with the outfit.”

I nod a bit. “Right...” I start walking and he follows along. “So what’s your name?”

“Ah...I g-go by Doctor Ravenclaw. I-It’s what everyone calls me,” he says.

That was a weird name for people to just start calling you. Then again, he didn’t really look like your average person. “I’m Ark Rogers. It’s nice to meet you.”

He nods. “L-Likewise.”

We walk to the end of the hall. The elevator didn’t work at all, so we head to the left instead. The first door we come across was unlocked so we walked in.

We seemed to have entered a game room. There were tables set up for different tabletop games. A bookshelf filled with all kinds of board games and card games was set off to the very side. The other wall was lined with arcade cabinets. There was a small TV with some old-fashioned plug-and-play games. There were a few people in the room.

The one closest to me was a girl. She was pretty skinny, but she hid it in a massively baggy purple t-shirt that was tattered at the bottom. I could see a pair of yellow shorts under it. She only wore one yellow shoe. A necklace was around her neck with a swirl made of metal on the string. Her hair was purple and curled at the edges. She had a creepy smile and turned it to me and Ravenclaw as we entered.

She hobbles over. She went up, down, up, down on her single shoe. “Hellooooo!” she says in a drawn out voice.

“Uh...hey there,” I say. “...who are you?”

She seems to like that question. “I am Erikaaaaaa Takahashiiiii! I am the SHSL Occuuuuultist!”

Wait...SHSL? She was from Hope’s Peak Academy?! What was she doing here then?! Wait, what was I doing here?! I wasn’t SHSL!

“Right...I’m Ark Rogers. I don’t really have a talent...or go to that school,” I say.

Erika tilts her head a little. “Hmmm? How cuuuurious! I loooove such things! I’m aaaaalways studying up on the weeeird and cuuuurious! I especially loooove Japanese and Europeeeean subjects! It’s all so interestiiiing!”

The other two boys were watching us by now. Erika’s interest seems to focus on Ravenclaw now, which left me to talk to the others in the room.

I walk over to one of the two boys. He had on really normal clothes at least. A baseball cap sat on his head, turned to the side. Scruffy blond hair was poking out from under it. He wore a bright blue button-up that was kept open over a plain white t-shirt. He was kind of chubby in the middle. He had on dirty jeans and a pair of expensive looking boots, the nicest thing he wore. There was a scar on his cheek. He had a lazy grin and gazed at everything with boredom.

“Uh...hey there,” I say. The boy waves lazily. “I feel like I recognize you,” I mention.

“You probably do,” he finally says. Even his voice sounded like he was bored. “I’m Hiroshi Sumitoshi. I’m the SHSL Dictator. You probably saw me on the news or something.”

“...wait, Dictator?!” I say in shock.

“Yeah, that’s right,” he says. “I rule a country in Europe that my family took over during the Tragedy. I run it like a dictatorship, hence the name. I have to handle foreign affairs and the like but it’s not so bad. Ruling a country is fun. And when people step out of line...” He holds up his fingers like a gun and points it at my head. “...I eliminate them.”

I give a nervous chuckle before slowly slipping away from him. I bumped into the other boy by accident. “Hey, watch it!” He snaps irritably.

I look at him, about to apologize, but stop. He wore a full eagle costume. The head was white while the rest of it was brown feathers. The wings ended in hands and the legs were yellow and not feathered. The face of the costume looked extremely angry. There was an American flag bandana around his neck. The suit seemed to have a potbelly.

“What’re you gawking at?!” he snaps, pulling me from my silence.

“O-Oh, uh, nothing!” I say quickly. “I was just uh...admiring your...outfit.”

He lets out a little ‘hmph’ but seems pleased with the answer. “Of course you are! You’re looking at Eddy Eagle, after all! The SHSL Fursuit Designer!”

“Did...Did I hear that right..?” I ask tentatively.

“I don’t think I stuttered!” he demands. “You know, I’m very proud of my talent! Making these things in good quality isn’t exactly easy! And I can charge people from hundreds to thousands of dollars on this stuff. I’m one of the most popular creators out there and all my shit is top of the line! Not that some completely normal high schooler like you would understand...”

“Alright, I’m sorry...” I murmur. There was snickering coming from nearby and we both look over. It was coming from Hiroshi.

“What are you fuckin’ laughing at?!” Eddy snaps angrily.

“N-Nothing!” Hiroshi says. “It’s nothing, I swear, just–!” He couldn’t even finish his sentence as he burst into laughter.

Erika was beginning to giggle softly. “He’s just a biiiird brain!” she says.

Eddy lets out an angry squawk and chases both Erika and Hiroshi out of the room, leaving Doctor Ravenclaw and me behind.

“They sure are an odd b-bunch,” Ravenclaw murmurs, standing next to me again.

I nod a little bit and look up at him. “So do you have a talent like them?”

“A-Ah...Yeah, I do...” He says quietly. “I-I’m uh...the SHSL Epidemiologist...”

I nod a bit. “That’s cool.”

“...y-you have no idea what that is, d-do you?” he asks me.

I shake my head. “Not even a little.”

He sighs softly. “It m-means that I study the spread and cr-creation of disease. B-Bacteria and viruses, basically. I d-do research on how they g-get around and what c-can cause or kill them. I also kn-know about origins and immunities t-to them.”

“Oh, that’s pretty cool,” I say. It sounded boring but...I’m sure it made him happy.

He nods softly but didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure how he felt about my response. Hopefully, he wasn’t upset with it.

The two of us left the room and continued on down the hall. We soon entered a new set of doors.

The next room made me think of a science lab. Each table was set up with a sink and equipment. There was a line of cabinets along one wall that probably had more supplies in it. There was a cabinet with glass doors in the very back that was filled with every kind of chemical you could think of. Mostly toxic. But on the plus side, it looked like some basic medical supplies were all in two small shelves. Two girls were studying the cabinet right now. A boy sat nearby quietly.

I walk over to them with Ravenclaw. “Who’s there?” the girl with pigtails asks. “State your name and talent now.” She didn’t turn to face us.

“Uh...I-I’m Doctor Ravenclaw the SHSL Epidemiologist,” Ravenclaw says.

“And the other one?” the girl asks.

“Oh! I’m Ark Rogers. I don’t have a talent,” I reply.

Now the girl turns around to face me. I could get a better look at her. Her red hair was tied back into two long pigtails. She wore a white tank top with bandages covering parts of both her arms. She wore plain looking jean shorts. Red and white stockings clashed with the combat boots she wore, though. She had a very serious look on her face. She probably always looked like that.

“You have no talent?” she asks me. “Are you in the Reserve Course?”

I shake my head a little bit. “Uh, no...I’m not. I go to Misaki Boy’s Academy.”

“That’s on the other side of Japan,” the girl murmurs, eyes narrowed. Why did she know that? “Anyway, I suppose I’ll introduce myself. I’m Sukai Ikusamori, the SHSL Weapon.”

“SHSL Weapon?” I echo. “Huh...so what does that mean?”

“It means what it sounds like it means. I’m trained to kill. I could use anything I wanted and be able to swiftly and efficiently kill a person with it. But I could also just use my bare hands. I know over a hundred ways to end someone’s life at any given moment,” she explains.

“That’s a pretty dehumanizing talent,” I say. “Are you like a robot or an experiment or something?”

“...you’re starting to annoy me,” she says. “Stop talking.”

I shut up. Angering someone with a talent that was basically being able to kill people probably isn’t a smart move to make. Sukai walks out of the room.

“Ah, finally, that blemish of imperfection is gone,” the other girl says.

I look at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Are you deaf?” she asks, turning to look at me now. Her brown hair stopped at her neck and bobbed gently when she moved. She had an angry look to her face, but half of it was covered with a light purple surgical mask. She wore a dark purple jacket that had a rose emblem on the right breast over a black turtleneck. She wore a purple skirt with black stockings under it and black stiletto heel boots. Black gloves covered her hands.

“No, but why did you call her something so mean?” I ask her.

“Because it’s true,” she replies bluntly. “But I suppose some average nobody like you is worse than anyone else here.”

“Wow, how nice of you...” I mutter softly.

“Still, I will grace you with my name,” she goes on. “I am the SHSL Toxicologist and all around perfect girl, Chrysta Flerovi!”

“Uh...do you work with poisons and stuff?” I ask her.

“Poisons and stuff,” she repeats mockingly. “Don’t make it sound so pedestrian you moldy little lemon square! I work with poison and venom and toxins in all shapes and sizes! They’re far easier to handle in gas and liquid form, of course, but I won’t be so easily deterred! I even started dabbling in acid for a bit but...anyway, I know all there is to know about toxins and how they affect living things. So I can save your life if you’ve been poisoned...maybe.”

“Oh, how...kind of you...” I murmur.

“Well, I can see when I’m not appreciated,” she says. “Fine. Fuck you, too.” She storms off. She was...an experience, to put it lightly.

The last person in the room was a boy who had been sitting quietly and watching everything. He was massive, being both tall and broad with muscle. A somehow baggy green sweater with hello zigzags covered his torso along with baggy jeans ripped at the knee. They almost covered his ratty red tennis shoes. He wore a wears mask that looks feminine, with purple eyeliner above half-lidded eyes, a thin mouth with red lipstick, and a soft pink blush around the cheeks. He also held a large notepad.

“Uh...hey there,” I say. The boy didn’t reply to me. He just stared through the mask. “...so...what’s your name?”

The boy holds up his notebook for me to read. “ _Hello! I’m Jason Meyers! I’m the SHSL Mask Maker!_ ”

That explained the creepy mask he was wearing right now, I guess. “What kind of masks do you make?”

He starts writing something down and shows it to me. “ _I make masks for movies! I work on horror movies a lot and makes masks for all kinds of monsters and creatures and stuff! Sometimes I make the costumes, but I’m best with mask._ ”

“Oh, you work with movies? That’s really cool!” I say excitedly. “I’ve always thought that kind of stuff would be really exciting!”

Jason seems to be extremely pleased with the praise. He perked up a bit and his shoulders strained out.

“We should g-get going,” Ravenclaw says to me with a little nudge.

“ _Oh, are you guys going to explore? Can I come with you?_ ” Jason writes for us.

I smile a bit. “Yeah, of course, you can. Right, Ravenclaw?” Ravenclaw nods gently in response. Jason seems even happier and the three of us left the room together.


	2. Prologue: Part II

The next room we entered looked like a theater room. There were several rows of chairs leading up to a massive stage. The blue curtains were pulled back and we could see into the backstage. There were many boxes filled to the brim with props and costumes and masks and supplies. There were four people in the room this time.

The three of us walk over. Jason pulls Ravenclaw over to a box filled with masks so the two of them could look through it.

I walk over to a person wearing a large purple robe with gold trimmings. I couldn’t see much about them other than a portion of their face, a golden eye looking out at everything. Messy black hair could be seen in the back of the hood. They were shockingly tall, too, well over six feet. They look at me as I approach.

“Ah, greetings!” they say cheerily. “How wonderful It is to see another face here!”

I smile a little bit. As odd as they looked, they seemed like a nice person. I hold out my hand. “Hey there, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Ark Rogers.”

They take my hand and shake it. I could feel a scar on their palm as they shake my hand. “Truly a pleasure to meet you, Ark! I have no name I can give you, but I have a talent! I am the SHSL Sacrifice!”

I stop shaking their hand as they said that. “...you’re a sacrifice..?” I ask softly. I pull my hand away.

They huff a little bit. “Yes, but that does not mean you are in any danger! I am the one being sacrificed, after all. It is the entire point of my existence! My blood shall be spilled on my 20th birthday as part of the ritual! It is all I am and ever shall be!”

Right, so this guy was a little nutty. And probably indoctrinated into a cult. But I don’t think starting any arguments with them is a good idea. “Uh...glad to see you so...excited.”

They smile pleasantly. “Ah, thank you so very much for your kind words!”

I decided to move onto someone else. There had to be at least one person that wasn’t completely weird or crazy in this place, right? My question doesn’t get a positive answer as a vial with something green in it is shoved into my face.

“Hey, ya wanna have a sip?” A boy asks me. I glance at him. He was a little taller than me. He wore a dirty, torn up labcoat that seemed to flare out around him. Under it was a blue shirt with a lighting bolt on it. His jeans and shoes were dirty and ratty as well. His hair was black and stood up. A pair of goggles with a broken lens sat on his forehead. A wild look in his eyes and a crazy grin rested naturally on his dirtied face.

“Uh...I think I’ll pass,” I say, trying to sound polite. “I don’t drink random chemicals.”

“You and everyone else...” he mutters, putting it in his coat pocket. “But anyway, I should introduce myself, huh? Victor Farns, SHSL Mad Scientist, at your service!”

By this point, I don’t think talents like that were going to surprise me anymore. “Well...nice to meet you. I’m Ark Rogers.”

Victor was silent for a moment as if waiting for me to add something else. “Uh...I don’t have a talent,” I say. “I’m not from Hope’s Peak.”

He gets a very wide grin. “So I can experiment on you and have no one care?”

“Whoa, I never said anything about that!” I say quickly, backing away.

Victor rolls his eyes. “Wow, thanks for that Captain Buzzkill.” He walks off, now looking annoyed. I sigh in relief.

A girl walks over to me soon after that. She had brown hair that fell to her neck with a pink headband in it and a pair of thin glasses resting on her nose. She had a rather bland look to her face. Her shirt was pink too with a white flower in the center and a blue jacket over that. She also wore brown pants and pink slip-on shoes. On her hands were puppets, one a green dragon with horns and big eyes and the other a princess with blonde hair and a pink dress with beady eyes.

“Well, hey there!” the dragon says in a dopey male voice. “Glad that guy didn’t poison ya or nothing!”

“Uh...yeah, so am I...” I say after a moment. Why wasn’t the girl talking to me herself?

The dragon holds out a hand and I hesitantly shake it. “Well, it’s nice to meet ya! I’m Draco and that over there is my friend Bea!” The dragon points at the princess on the other hand.

“‘Sup,” Bea says plainly in a deep female voice. “I’m Bea. Stands for ‘Be fuckin’ quiet’.”

“Right...” I murmur. I look at the girl herself. “And what’s your name?”

“Why, that there is our good ol’ friend Martha! Martha Schneider, the SHSL Hand Puppeteer!” Draco says.

“I probably could have guessed that part,” I respond. “Are you guys her only puppets?”

Bea shakes her head. “Nah, man. She has tons of puppets for all kinds of stories and adventures that she makes up all on her own. She’s known for being amazing with making her own stories with hand puppets. She got famous and shit from it. The two of us are just her favorites.”

“Is there any reason she’s not telling me this directly?” I ask them.

“Martha just has problems taking in big groups is all,” Draco assures. “There’s just too many people.”

“Social anxiety is a real bitch,” Bea says curtly.

“Maybe you should go find someplace less crowded,” I suggest. “Then you’ll calm down.”

Martha nods a little bit to my suggestion and smiles softly. She walks out of the room without a word to me.

A boy who had been hanging back in the corner finally looks over at me. His hair was light blond and long, dropping down his neck and over part of his face. He wore a silver yukata with black trimmings. Over it was a brick-red armor on his shoulders and torso. It made me think of a Samurai. He had a very calm and composed look on his face. He had a sword sheslthed at his side with a golden tassel hanging off of it. “Hello,” he says in a deep, smooth voice.

“Oh uh...hi,” I say. “I’m—“

“I know who you are,” he cuts in. “I was listening to your conversations with the others.” Okay, so that was a little creepy. “I’m Ishida Heiwa, the SHSL Samurai.”

He didn’t seem like much of a conversationalist. He just seemed to say what he needed to when he needed to. Very straightforward, almost analytical. A little refreshing given some of the insanity I’ve seen here so far. But there was something more important to talk out. “You’re a samurai?! An actual, real-life samurai?! Amazing!”

He smirked ever so softly, looking extremely pleased to have been a subject of interest. “Yes, well, I suppose they aren’t as common to see anymore. I work as...a glorified bodyguard at times. I’m hired to protect. Although I’m trained as a soldier, I’m typically hired by the upper class as a form of protection. But it pays well and I certainly don’t mind the work.”

“Wow, that really amazing, Ishida!” I say with a bit of excitement. “I bet it’s nothing like in the movies, though.”

Ishida simply shakes his head. He didn’t really seem to need to speak at that instant. And with a slight nod, he left, ending the conversation there.

I walk over to Jason and Ravenclaw. Seems The robed person has left at some point, leaving us as the only ones in the room. Jason had ended up just lifting up the entire box of masks. “He c-couldn’t pick,” Ravenclaw says. “He t-took them all.”

I smile softly. “That’s alright. Let’s go finish looking around and just have Jason join up later.”

The two nod and Jason heads out happy with his big box of masks. I had no idea what he planned to do with them, but it sure did seem to make him happy.

Jason heads out of the room first with his box. Me and Ravenclaw head out next. The door hits something as I opened it and I look. I just smacked a girl in the face with a door!

She was kind of short and thin. She wore a black and white long-sleeved shirt. She had red shorts on that went with her red sneakers. She legs were covered in bandages and bandaids. Her hair was black and choppy, sections cut off for her eyes and two messy pigtails tied up in the back. There was a thick scar under her left eye. Her left arm was in a sling with nine tally marks on it, yet her arm didn’t seem to be broken.

“I’m so sorry!” I say quickly. “I had no idea you were there!”

She smiles calmly. She didn’t seem very hurt. I don’t think I hit her that hard. “It’s okay,” she says calmly. “Nothing serious happened.” She holds it her free hand. “I’m Allison Murphy, SHSL Close Call.”

I shake her hand. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask her.

She grins. “Oh, it just means that I get super good luck when really bad things happen! Like, I got into the school because my family was failing financially and I won the lottery! I also survived kidnappings, all kinds of disasters, and several illnesses! And I always get out in one piece!”

I slowly take my hand back and brush it off. “Uh Huh...”

She rolls her eyes a bit but didn’t look bothered. “Calm down, my luck only affects me. Others don’t get hurt from it!”

“Yeah, don’t get so worked up,” a boy says. I look at him. He was kind of tall with shaggy brown hair. He wore an orange prison jumpsuit with a brown leather jacket over it. A pair of handcuffs dangled off of his right wrist. I don’t remember him being here, to begin with. “Anyway, I’m Yavin Mathers. Also known as the SHSL Escape Artist!”

I look him over cautiously. “Uh...”

He blinks and looks at himself before looking back up. “It’s just a costume! I usually wear it during my acts. Really gives off an escapist vibe, huh?”

Knowing some of the people here, I wasn’t even sure if that was the truth or not. “Yeah...really does...”

“Well, my escapes are the absolute best! So don’t be surprised if I could get out of a prison! No cell or restraint can hold me down whatsoever! Not even social interaction can keep me trapped in one place!”

What a weird guy. I look back at Allison. “So you’re sure I didn’t hurt you at all?” I ask her.

She giggles softly and waves her hand nonchalantly. “You’re so silly!” She walks off, still giggling to herself. I wasn’t sure what the joke was. I look back to Yavin only to find he was gone. When did that happen..?

I head off with Ravenclaw to the final room in the building. A cafeteria near the other hand of the circular hallway. There were several tables in the room set up, allowing everyone to either sit together at one large table or alone or with small groups at smaller tables. In the back was a large kitchen I could see through the doorway and a serving counter.

There were fifteen people in the room right now. Everyone I had met already and three new faces. I decide to go over to them.

The first boy I walked over to had on a pair of brown leather goggles that rested on his face. Brown hair poked up around his head. He wore a long sleeve red shirt with the words GAME OVER printed on them and silver spikes lining the bottom. There was a tool belt around his waist with expensive looking tools. His blue jeans were dirty and so were his white sneakers. It looked like he works on cars or something.

“Uh...hey there,” I say. “I’m Ark Rogers.”

The boy smiles wide. “Ah, nice to meet you then! Satoshi Wright, SHSL Inventor!”

“Oh, I’ve heard of you before!” I say after a moment. “I’ve seen some of your stuff on TV!”

“Haha, yep!” he cheers. “I bet you have! My stuff is top of the line, you know! Just because I recreate stuff from video games and movies doesn’t mean you won’t want a piece of it! Even if it’s useless junk like ACME stuff from Looney Tunes, people just seem to eat that up! But making stuff sure is fun anyway! Haha! So, what’s your talent, hm?”

“Oh uh...I don’t have a talent,” I say. “I’m not from Hope’s Peak. I just kinda...woke up here.”

Satoshi stares at me blankly for a moment. Then he blinks and smiles again. “Oh, how interesting! I wonder why such bland, boring, average, talentless person is doing here! Hm...”

“H-Hey! You don’t have to make it sound like I’m so useless!” I say angrily.

“Huh? I wasn’t trying to do that,” he says. “Geez, sorry!”

I didn’t really believe that apology but I honestly didn’t want to argue. I decide to go talk to someone else instead. I walk over to another boy. He seemed very angry at nothing, with an angry grimace on his face and a look of disdain for everyone here. A red headband with devil horns was nestled into his long black hair, which fell past his shoulders and covered one eye. He wore a red long sleeve with a bat on the front of it. The sleeves were frayed a bit like something scratched at them. He wore brown pants and black shoes. The pants also seemed to be frayed on the bottom. He was also holding a red shoe box.

“Hello,” I say. “I’m—“

“Ark Rogers, a normal high schooler,” the boy says. “Yes, I know. The demon told me.”

“Uh...excuse me..?” I ask hesitantly.

He taps the top of the box gently. “The demon, you fool! Ah...but you don’t know who I am. I’m Damond Pitt, the SHSL Demonologist.”

I found it more reasonable that he was just snooping in on my conversation with Satoshi. But I honestly didn’t feel like arguing about that. “So you study demons then?” I ask him.

“I’m glad you understand basic word structure,” he murmurs. “Yes, I am a studier of demons! I’ve done extensive research on their existence amongst many different cultures and religions. I have done it all in an effort to learn about my special demon right here.” He pats the box gently as he says that and it seems to shake a bit. Did he do that or was it the box? “I’m like a walking encyclopedia of information. Not that I would share it with random commoners, though...”

“Alright then,” I say. “Uh...good talk...” Damon nods and leaves. I let out a small sigh of relief and look toward the last person I hadn’t yet met.

It was a tall and muscular boy. He wore a black hood that hid most of his face, only letting me see the mouth and keeping anything else I could see in shadow. His shirt had no sleeves, showing off his muscular arms, and was pitch black as well. His pants were a leathery brown along with his boots that ended in points. He wore black gloves that looked torn along the edges. A heavy looking double-headed ax was in his hands.

Okay, so this guy was a little intimidating. But I force a smile anyway. “Hey there...I’m Ark Rogers. Uh...nice to meet you?”

“...Methuselah...” the boy says after a moment. His voice was deep and rumbling. He paused for a bit. “...SHSL Executioner...”

“You’re...an executioner..?” I ask softly. Where did Hope’s Peak find these people? Methuselah looked like he was going to say more, but Hiroshi walked over with his usual lax grin.

“Yeah, Methuselah here is pretty good at what he does,” the dictator boasts. “He knows all kinds of execution methods. Classics like legal injection, electrocution, firing squad, and uh...heh...” he gestures to the ax in the stronger boy’s hand. “He also handles mercy deaths and assissted suicides! And he takes all orders from me. Ain’t that right, big guy?” He pats Methuselah’s back, who just nods softly in response.

“Uh...yeah...right...cool...” I wasn’t sure if being around both of them at the same time was too wise. I hesitantly slink off and end up going back to Ravenclaw, who was with Jason.

I sat down with the two of them at a small table to chat with them. People were slowly starting to break into small groups or pairs or they just stayed on their own. Things were nice...until _it_ happened.

There’s a small thump from the large table and everyone’s heads turn to look at it. A black and white bear was standing on the table. He had a wide grin and a red, jagged eye on the black half of his body. I didn’t recognize him at first, but everyone else seemed to.

“What the hell is that doing here?” Sukai asks. “I wasn’t informed this was a school trip.”

“This isn’t a school trip!” Eddy snaps. “If Monokuma is here then...that has to mean—“

Monokuma starts cackling loudly. “Man, you kids don’t even wait one second, do ya? Fine by me, I’m a bear of action! Welcome, boys and girls, to an all-new season of killing games!”


	3. Prologue: Part III

I think I was taking this a little harder than the rest of the people here. “What the hell do you mean killing game?!” I demand fearfully.

“Can someone tell Plain Jane over there what that means?” Satoshi asks.

“I-I know what a killing game is!” I demand. “Does this mean we’re in one?!”

“Of course it does!” Chrysta says. “We’re Hope’s Peak Academy students! By now, this is just predictable.”

“But I’m not!” I demand. I look at Monokuma. “Why am I here?! I'm not a part of the school!”

“Good question!” he says. “But isn’t it more entertaining to figure that out later on? I think it is! So you can just wait!”

“You said new season,” Sukai recalls. “But...the only killing games to ever be broadcasted were the Hope’s Peak Academy Killing Games near the beginning of the tragedy. Is someone watching us..?”

Monokuma giggles softly. “No one’s there to watch,” he replied ominously. “But enough about that! I just came to tell everyone the wonderful news! Oh, and that your motives will officially begin tomorrow. Have fun~!” He hops off the table and waddles off. I try to stop him but Ravenclaw grabs my shoulder and shakes his head.

I pull my shoulder away. “Why didn’t any of you try to stop him?!” I demand.

“...you don’t know much about the killing games, huh?” Allison asks me.

“I mean...I know how many there were and obviously, I know about Junko and...some of the survivors.” I can’t say I remembered all of them like I should. I had a test over it in a week...well...if that was even still possible.

“Attacking Monokuma is obviously against the rules!” Chrysta says. “And he’ll kill you if you break his precious rules. But someone as perfect as me has nothing to worry over!”

“How do you guys know the rules already?” I ask them.

“Check your e-handbook if ya don’t know them!” Eddy demands.

“We learn about the killing games a bit more in-depth when signing up for Hope’s Peak,” Hiroshi says. “I mean, when every game is centered around the students there, why wouldn’t you? It’s something the school requests since there’s also the chance the newest class will be next. Honestly, I think the subject is extremely interesting!”

Everyone seemed way calmer than I was about this whole thing. I wasn’t sure if I should think of that as a good thing or not. “I...I think I’m just going to go to my room...” I finally say. I left before anyone could protest.

Once I was out of the cafeteria, I bolted to my bedroom as I fast as I could and locked myself inside. I pant a bit as I lean on the door. This entire situation was insane!

Once I had my breath back, I head over to my bed and flop down onto it. I peek over at my nightstand and decide to open the drawer. A small tablet was inside. My e-handbook, I guess.

I pull it out and turn it on. There was a profile page for myself that had information that was a little personal. There was also a rules page I decide to go through.

1\. No harming Monokuma in any way.  
2\. No harming the property unless for a murder.  
3\. No sleeping in undesignated areas.  
4\. Students must attend all meetings arranged by Monokuma.  
5\. No killing more than 2 people at a time.  
6\. All murders will be preceded by investigation and trials.  
7\. More rules may be added as necessary.

I sigh softly after I finished reading them. This was completely insane. Why did it have to be me? Out of every completely average, normal, boring high school student, why me..?

I put the e-handbook down and roll onto my side, pulling the blanket up over my head. I didn’t leave my room for anything after that. An announcement eventually plays.

“Attention! Attention all students!” Monokuma says. “It is 10 pm and is officially nighttime! So sweet dreams, sleep well, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!”

Nighttime? It seemed like it was late already then. I didn’t plan on leaving my room anyway, so I close my eyes and force myself to sleep. Maybe this'll turn out to be a weird nightmare. If I was lucky...


	4. Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Daily Life Part I

**New Daily Life - Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind**

I woke up in the morning to a loud announcement. “Wakey wakey, rise and shine!” Monokuma says. “It’s 7:00 am and officially daytime! So get yo and get going!”

I grumble softly and roll over in my bed. I didn’t want to get up and leave. I just wanted to stay here and do nothing. That seemed like a safe plan for right now. And it was working for a good five minutes before someone knocked on my door.

I shift a little and look toward the door. Why was someone trying to bother me? I sigh softly and get out of bed, heading over to the door. I open it up. Ravenclaw was standing there, taking up the entire door frame with his massive stature.

“Did you want something..?” I ask softly. I had to admit, he was an intimidating guy. Even if he didn’t seem to be a dangerous person.

“A-Ah, I just came to check up on you...” he murmurs softly, fidgeting with his hands a bit.

I nod gently. “Well, I’m fine. Thanks. You can go now if you want.” I go to close the door but he sticks his foot in the way. I look back up at him.

“I-I actually wanted to have you come sit with me at breakfast,” he says. “I would feel more comfortable that way.”

“...yeah, you know what? I can do that,” I tell him. I think I just felt bad for the guy. Besides, I couldn’t avoid food.

Ravenclaw seemed to perk up a bit when I agreed to go get breakfast with him. The two of us head to the cafeteria together.

The cafeteria was full with all the other students. They were eating their breakfast or chatting with one another. I get myself a bowl of cereal from the kitchen and sit down next to Ravenclaw at our own table.

Ravenclaw has unzipped his mask to eat a packet of pudding he grabbed for himself. The scent of lilacs and vanilla slowly waft out as he starts eating. I could see his lips. His sink was a sickly pale and looked thin like paper. I decide not to comment and just focus on my breakfast.

I look around at everyone. Some of the others were sitting alone, like Sukai and Chrysta. Some of the others seem to be with others. Jason and Allison were talking excitedly about something. Erika, Victor, and Damond were all together but it looked like Damond wasn’t having fun.

Monokuma drops down onto the table I was at while I was trying to eat, spilling my cereal onto the floor.

Everyone looks over as Monokuma landed. I was more upset over my cereal than anything. But I also wasn’t really sure what to expect.

“Hello, everyone!” he says cheerily. He was holding a box of pencils and slips of paper. “Are you all super excited to see your very favorite bear?”

“Go away!” Victor calls out to him. Some of the others snicker. Monokuma simply scowls.

“Anyhow, it’s motive time everyone!” he cheers.

“Uh...Why are we doing a motive? What’s it for?” I ask.

Monokuma sighs. “Obviously, it’s to encourage you brats to kill! So we’re doing a motive now!” He passes out a pencil and a slip of paper to everyone. “Right down the name of a person! And you have to vote, or you get the motive instead!”

Everyone writes something down and turns in a slip of paper after a moment. Monokuma looks over all of them. “Hm...Ark! Chrysta! You tied! Front and center!”

I frown softly and stand up, moving closer to Monokuma.

“If you’re so eager to bask in my perfection, I may as well,” Chrysta says calmly, walking over to him.

A knife drops down into Monokuma’s hand from the ceiling and he slashed it out. He cuts open Chrysta’s stomach. Not too deep, but it will scar. Her eyes widened and she stumbled back a bit, putting her hand to her stomach. “G-Gah...”

Some of the others rush over to Chrysta but she just shoved them away.

I look at her and gulp nervously before looking back at Monokuma. A baseball bat drops into his paws next. He reels his arms back and hits me in the stomach as hard as he could. My eyes widen and I feel all the air rush out of me. I gasp loudly and collapse onto the floor, wrapping my arms around my stomach as pain surged through it.

Ravenclaw and Jason hurried over to me to try to get me back onto my feet. I keep gasping and joking as I struggle to return air to my lungs.

“And that’s just a small taste of what we have to offer!” Monokuma declares. “Expect this every day until I see a body! And remember, everyone must vote!”

And with that, Monokuma hopped off his table and waddled off.

Ravenclaw and Jason carefully get me to sit down. Jason got me an ice pack for my stomach. All it did was make me cold.

I struggle for a moment to get my breathing back to normal. It was left a little wheezy, but I’d have to settle with that. It was better than nothing.

Once I was feeling well enough, I went off on my own to the science lab. I needed painkillers and I need they had medical supplies there.

Chrysta was in the room when I entered, Allison hovering around her. She was getting herself cleaned up quietly. I grab a bottle of painkillers and pop a couple into my mouth.

“Are you going to be okay, Chrysta?” I ask her.

She huffs gently. “Of course I will, you rotten apple! I’m perfect, after all. I won’t be stopped so easily!”

I roll my eyes a tiny bit. “Glad to see you’re okay, then.”

Allison walks over to me once Chrysta has pulled her shirt down over her treated injury. “Are you feeling okay?” she asks.

I nod a bit, although that was a lie. My stomach hurt horribly and I was still a bit wheezy. “I’ll be okay. Thanks, Allison. I think I’m just going to go relax for now.”

She nods in response and gives my arm a comforting pat. I walk out of the room.

I went into the game room and sunk into the soft couch. It was so comfortable and nice. Ravenclaw was already sitting there, gently twiddling his thumbs. He eeped gently as I say down.

“Ah, A-Ark!” he says. “Are you g-going to be okay?”

I nod gently, resting a hand on my stomach. It felt a little better after the medication. “I’ll be okay. Thanks for worrying about me.”

He nods quickly. “Y-Yeah, of course! You uh...You are my friend, after all.”

I look at him as smile softly. I gently punch his arm. “Yeah, you’re my friend, too.”

He seems a bit flustered after I said that. “U-Um! So do you...wanna play video games? You d-don’t have to if you don’t feel up to it.”

“I think video games would be fun,” I say.

Ravenclaw nods quickly and gets the controllers for us. He cleans his off with some sanitizer beforehand. He puts in a racing game for us to play. I spend time playing video games with Ravenclaw. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I manage to beat him at the game a few times in a row. He didn’t seem that good at it, but I couldn’t exactly tell how he was feeling about this with his mask on. I look up at his face, studying it for a moment.

Ravenclaw seems to notice because I could see him teaming up. “...d-do you...do you need s-something..? I-Is it a bug?! Is there a b-bug on me?!”

I shake my head. “No, uh...sorry. I was just wondering what was under that make of yours.”

He was quiet for a second. “Well...I-it’s my face, of course.”

“I know that, but I mean why you wear it,” I clarify. “It just seems like a weird thing to do.”

He shifts uneasily. “W-We’ll, I’m n-not the only one wearing a mask so...”

“Yeah, But I kinda wonder why the others wear theirs, too,” I say. “Is there something wrong with your face? Are you shy?”

Ravenclaw reluctantly puts his controller down. “C-Can we n-not t-talk about th-this?” he stammers nervously. It sounded like he was starting to panic.

“Uh...yeah, of course,” I say. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m prying too much.”

“Y-Yeah...” Ravenclaw murmurs. “...it Um...it’s okay. But I think I’m going to go g-get some f-food. Bye...” He stands from his spot on he couch and shuffles off. I sigh deeply. That could have gone better.

I got up soon enough and left to go on a small walk. My stomach hurt a little less than before. I went into the theater this time to go look around. I found Chrysta inside, grumbling as she went through a box. It looked like her tie was missing.

I walk over. “Everything alright there, Chrysta?”

“Does it look at though things are alright?!” she snaps. “I can’t find it anywhere!”

“Find...what, exactly?” I ask her, tilting my head a bit.

“Is it not obvious to you? Is your head filled with stale spaghetti?!” she demands angrily.

“Christ, you don’t need to yell at me about it,” I say. “I just wanted to help. But if you’re going to act like that, forget it.”

I’m pretty sure I visibly saw her swallow her pride. “No, wait...” she says softly. “I’m sorry. I would like help right now.”

I nod. “Alright, tell me what I can do,” I say.

“I’m positive that jackass Hiroshi ran into here with my tie. It’s my favorite one and I want it back, but I can’t find it,” she says bitterly.

“Oh, really?” I ask her. “Yeah, I can definitely help you with that.”

Chrysta sighs gently with relief. I spend time searching the theater with Chrysta. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I pull the tie out of a box of costumes. “Is this is?” I ask her.

She looks over and her eyes widen. She quickly yanks it out of my hand. “Yes! Yes, it is!” She ties it back around her neck quickly and sighs in relief. “There. Back to the perfect outfit.”

“Did you say something to make Hiroshi angry?” I ask her after a moment.

Chrysta freezes for a moment. “What? How dare you accuse someone as perfect as me for instigating such an act! That beast manhandled me and stole it right off my neck!”

I look at her. As much of a jerk as Hiroshi seemed to be, randomly attacking someone didn’t sound anything like him. “Chrysta, what did you say to him?”

She pauses for a second. “Well...all I did was tell him he isn’t as good as he thinks he is. And that his doughy ass isn’t near as close to perfection as I am.”

I or my face in my hands and sigh deeply. “Chrysta, that’s a really awful thing to say.

“Oh, so now I can’t say true things because someone might throw a hissy fit?!” she demands.

“I mean that it isn’t nice to just insult someone like that for no reason,” I clarify. “You should...try being nicer.”

She looked incredibly offended now. “How dare you! I'm incredibly nice! Such awful allegations will not stand!”

“Chrysta, wait,” I say. But she had already gotten up and walked off without so much as a goodbye to me. Why did she have to be so narcissistic?

I left the theater and had started heading to my room. But Hiroshi stepped in front of me along the way.

“Um...do you want something..?” I ask him hesitantly.

He smiles lazily and nods. “Yes, yes! I wanted to have a conversation with you! I want to get to know more about the commoners such as you!”

He talked about me like I was some random peasant. But I suppose learning about a dictator couldn’t hurt. “Yeah, alright, I guess,”

Hiroshi seems happy as he leads me to his bedroom. The two of us walk inside.

Hiroshi’s room was large and extravagant. His bed was massive with curtains on it. He had a very well crafted desk and a bookshelf that covered one wall. It was filled to the brim with books of all kinds on various subjects. A gorgeous chandelier hung from the ceiling, lighting up the room. The whole room had an air of sophistication and class.

“Holy shit...” I murmur softly as I look around the room.

“Ah, so you’re impressed, yes?” he asks me.

I nod a little bit. It was definitely better than my room. The two of us sit down on his bed. The sheets were made of velvet and the whole bed itself was soft like a cloud.

He continues to smile lazily but watched me with an almost...curious gaze. It was kind of unnerving. “Feel free to relax on it,” he assures.

I flip back onto the bed, stretching of eagle-style. “Aaaah! It’s so comfy!”

Hiroshi flood down next to me. “Yes, it certainly is!”

I grin and close my eyes. I spend time relaxing with Hiroshi. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I eventually sat up. “Oh, wait. You wanted to chat with me, right?”

Hiroshi sits up as well. “Ah, yes, of course. I was curious about what your life was like. Maybe something interesting in it would explain why you were here.”

“Oh...well, I’m originally American. But I moved to Japan after my parents adopted me. I have a mom and a dad and a sister. She actually did go to Hope’s Peak. As a reserve course student.”

“Ah. How strange you are here instead of her,” He comments. “But...you said adopted. Your original parents, what happened to them?”

“Oh, Uh...” I frown a tiny bit. “...car accident. I was the only survivor. I was only a little kid then.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” He didn’t look or hear sorry but I had no reason not the believe him. “I lost my family as well.”

“What? You did?” I ask. “...wait, your family? As in..?”

“All of them? Yes,” he says. “It was truly awful. They were all massacred in one night by a masked assailant. I got injured but managed to survive in with Methuselah by my side.”

“Is that his you got that scar?” I ask.

He nods silently.

“Christ...I’m so sorry to hear that,” I say. “That sounds awful.”

He nods again. “It was. I assumed the throne with a heavy heart and ruled the country to the best of my abilities after such an atrocity occurred.”

He stands up and I do, too. “I think you should be going,” he says. “It’s getting late.”

I nod a bit and leave his room, walking to mine. The nighttime announcement plays as I crawl into bed.

I lay down and close my eyes. My gut still hurt but not nearly as bad as before. This entire situation was just awful. And the scariest thing for me was knowing someone was bound to pick me off.

I manage to fall asleep, praying I wouldn’t be dead by morning.


	5. Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Daily Life Part II

I wake up slowly, blinking the sleep away. My stomach didn’t hurt as bad now. It was still a little sore, especially when I moved around or sat. But I could manage it.

I get myself ready for the day and look at my door. One of the rules was being around for meetings. Which I would assume means Monokuma’s motives. So I left the room quietly.

I stop by the game room instead of going to the cafeteria today. I could hear someone playing games in there. I walk inside.

I saw Ishida and Satoshi playing one of the arcade games together with Sukai watching a small distance away. Satoshi seems more calculatory as he played. I had the idea he knew what he was doing.

Ishida, meanwhile, looked really intense and excited. Nothing like the calm personality he had put on a couple days ago. It looked like he was out for digital blood. But he was losing.

Satoshi beats Ishida with very little trouble. Ishida yells angrily and slams his fists into the arcade machine. Then he kicks it hard. “This damn thing is broken!” he yells angrily.

Satoshi smiles. “Haha! I won again! I might as well be the SHSL Gamer!”

He glances over at me while Ishida was raging and his excitement seemed to dissipate a little. “Ah, I see you’re here to learn skills from the master! I’m sure someone as average as you are just as average at simple video games.”

“I’m not that bad!” I demand. “I just can’t spend all my time playing them like you!”

“Why don’t you come prove it to me then?” he taunts.

I frown and walk over, taking Ishida’s spot at the arcade machine after he stomped out of the room. I play Satoshi in a fighting game...but he beats me down with no effort.

“Well, now I’m bored,” he says. “You just suck the fun out with how plain you are. I’m going to get some breakfast. See ya later!” Satoshi grins and walks out.

“What was all of that?” Sukai asks after he had left.

“They were just being poor sports at video games,” I say casually.

“Video...games?” she asks slowly. “Are they a form of training?”

I blink. “Uh...no, they're for entertainment. Have you never seen a video game before?”

Sukai shakes her head. “I’m afraid I haven’t. Are they well known?”

I nod a bit and gesture for her to walk over. She does so. “Here, let me show you how to play,” I tell her.

I spent a bit of time showing Sukai how the game works. She was terrible but she had a very determined look on her face as she played it. “...I wish to challenge you at this video game at a later date,” she says. “Be prepared.” She leaves the room.

I sigh a tiny bit as she left. She seemed nice at least. Everyone here was so weird. My stomach grumbles and I head to the cafeteria to get some breakfast finally.

I enter and get myself some more cereal to eat. Everyone was relaxing and trying to stay calm. But we all knew what would happen soon.

Monokuma drops down onto the table soon enough. I didn’t spill my breakfast this time, thankfully.

“You all know the still, hopefully!” Monokuma cheers. We all get a pencil and paper. Everyone turns them in after a minute.

Monokuma looks at the papers and seems to get angry. “Hey! What did I say about writing down names!?!” he demands. “Looks like I’ll have to make an example out of you three. Jason! Allison! Yavin! Front and CENTER!”

The three of them all walk up to the front. Jason seemed the most nervous even though I couldn’t see his face. Allison And Yavin night looked calm for the most part.

A thread and needle was the first thing Monokuma got. He used it to see Jason’s hands together at amazing speed. Jason screamed the entire process and everyone watched in horror. When it was done, his hands were bleeding horrifically and they were stuck together by the palms.

Allison attempts to calm him down. Monokuma gets a hammer and gets into the floor. He raises it above his hand and slams the hammer down onto Allison’s foot. I think I heard a crack, but I wasn’t sure. Allison’s eyes widen and she screams loudly, falling onto the floor.

Yavin takes a small step back when Monokuma looks at him. He gets a knife and stabs it into Yavin’s arm. He gasps in pain and stumbles back, grabbing the knife.

“Consider that your example!” Monokuma demands angrily. “Refuse to vote for the motive and you’ll get way worse than some little cuts and bruises! Don’t cross me again!” And then he giggles. “Toodle-doo~!” He waddles away.

I get a knife from the kitchen and use that to cut Jason’s hands free. He was still sobbing uncontrollably even after his hands were freed. Me, Ravenclaw, Sukai, and Methuselah help the three of them to the science lab.

I sit Yavin down in a chair. Ravenclaw was letting Allison lean against him. Sukai and Methuselah has to drag Jason along.

I get everyone painkillers while Ravenclaw cleans the messes up. Methuselah tried to console Jason while Sukai looks the injuries over.

“Jason and Yavin will be left with scars,” she says. “I don’t think Allison’s foot is broken, but I would keep pressure off of it anyway.”

I nod. “Of course. Thank you for the help, Sukai.”

“It’s no problem,” she says. “Really. So don’t worry about it.” She walks out of the room.

Jason’s wailing had finally ended, leaving him in weak blubbering. Allison has moved herself over to him to try to help calm him down.

Once everyone was okay and patched up as best as we could manage, I left the room. I decided I needed to take my mind off of this all for just a bit.

I bumped into Eddy in the middle of the hallway as he was leaving the cafeteria. He growls angrily at me and I quickly take a step back.

“Watch where you’re fuckin’ goin’, asswipe!” he snaps angrily.

“Uh...s-sorry...” I murmur softly. For a guy in a fursuit, he was really good at being intimidating.

He huffs angrily. “Well...yeah! Damn right ya are!” It sounded like he was trying to find a way to continue being mad. I didn’t want him I stay mad at me though.

“Can I make it up to you somehow?” I ask him.

Eddy was quiet for a moment. I don’t think he was expecting me to ask that. “...yeah, y’know what? I do got something I need done. I need a help with my suits! Think of yourself like a living mannequin.”

“...uh...” Before I could decide on how to protest that, Eddy had grabbed my wrist and dragged me off to his room.

Eddy’s room had a large American flag struggle up over his bed. There was a work table for working with fabric. A few modeling mannequins say around. There was plenty of supplies to work with, too. Eddy also had several backup suits along one wall.

He takes me over to the work table. “Try not to move. If I prick ya, it ain’t my fault.”

I sigh deeply but do what I was told. I spend time helping Eddy design fursuits. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I manage to get through the experience without being stabbed with a needle. “Okay, you’re done for now,” Eddy grunts.

I take off the suit. He had been using me to make sure all the parts fit together well. He had attached the entire body of the suit. I think it was supposed to be a dog of some kind.

“Thanks for the help, I guess...” Eddy murmurs.

“Yeah, it wasn’t so bad,” I say. “Thanks for not stabbing me with a needle.”

Eddy just nods and begins putting the suit away.

“So how did you get into doing something like this? It’s a very...Um...odd talent to take up,” I say.

“I know damn well you want to laugh at me,” Eddy replies.

“I-I didn’t say that!” I say quickly. The thought had occurred to me the first time I met him, but that wasn’t really the first thing on my mind anymore.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Eddy says. “Look man, there’s a lot of money in a business like this.”

“Yeah, you mentioned you charge a lot of money for stuff like this,” I recall. 

“Damn right! This thing ain’t cheap to make and ain’t no one makin’ their own,” he declares. “Most people are gonna wanna commission and buy!”

“So you do this for the money, then?” I ask him.

“Well, duh!” he demands. “Why else would I wanna waste my time on this?”

“Okay...but then why do you have all these extra suits? And why do you always wear one?” I ask him.

Eddy was quiet for a second. I think I caught him off guard. “Get out of my room,” he says.

I frown a little. “H-Huh?”

“I said get out!” he shrieks. I quickly ran out of his room, slamming the door shut behind myself. I don’t know what I said to piss him off so badly, but maybe it was best to let him cool off.

I found Sukai in the game room. She had gotten out a deck of card and was playing solitaire. At least she knew what games were. Unless someone recently taught her what that was.

I walk over to her and she looks up at me. “Ah, Ark. Greetings.”

I wave to her a little and sit across from her. “Hey there. Playing solitaire I see.”

She nods and sets a card down. “I find it to be an enjoyable relaxation in between my training.”

“Do you mind if I play a game with you?” I ask her.

“This is meant to be a game for one person,” she explains.

“No, I meant a different card game,” I tell her.

She pauses. “...there are other card games?”

She really didn’t get out much, did she? “Yeah, there are. I’ll teach you one. It’s called Go Fish.”

Sukai nods. “Right. Okay. I’ll happily learn more from you.”

I smile a tiny bit and shuffle up the deck. I spend time playing Go Fish with Sukai. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“What did you do all day back home?” I ask her in the middle of a game.

“That’s a sudden question to ask. Are you attempting to interrupt my concentration?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No, of course not! I’m just curious.”

“I trained,” she says. “I train every day to be at peak performance.”

“And that’s all you do?” I ask her.

“What more would I be doing?” she retorts. “I’m the SHSL Weapon. What would I be doing at my home if not training?”

“Yeah...about that, I still don’t understand how you got that talent,” I say. “Have you killed people before?”

“No,” she says after a moment. “But I’m trained to. I could kill a man in any known way with anything I can.”

“But why would someone train you to be like that?” I ask her. “Are you happy?”

Sukai seems to freeze up. She stared down at the cards in her hand but I could tell she wasn’t focused on them. She stands up, letting them fall from her hands. “I’m going to go to my room. I have things to do.” She walks off.

I frown a little bit. That wasn’t the answer I was hoping to get. I collect the cards and leave as well.

I found Jason in the cafeteria. Despite the injuries to his hands, he was making cookies. I walk up to him. “Jason? Should you be doing that?”

He looks back at me and grabs his notebook. I could see noticeable bloodstains on the paper. “ _It’s okay! It doesn’t hurt that bad!_ ”

“You shouldn’t be using your hands like that,” I tell him. “And you shouldn’t be writing either. You can speak, can’t you?”

Jason didn’t respond to that question. He returns to his cooking instead. Was he ignoring me?

I sigh and walk over. “At least let me help you. You shouldn’t be doing this on your own.”

Jason looks at me and shakes his head.

“ _I can handle his. Please just go relax and I’ll cook. It’s okay!_ ”

I frown a tiny bit but it seemed like Jason wasn’t going to let me help. So I go wait in the cafeteria.

Jason eventually walked out with a plate stacked with cookies and sets them down. “ _Eat up!_ ”

I smile a bit and try one. It was warm and gooey and incredibly sweet. So I eat more. I spend time eating cookies under Jason’s pleased gaze. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I eat my fill of the cookies. I felt like a barely made a dent in the stack. “Ugh, I’m full. You can have some, Jason.”

He shakes his head. “ _No, I don’t want any. They aren’t for me._ ”

“Huh..?” I ask. “Jason, it’s alright. I can’t eat anymore. You can have one.”

He shakes his head and holds up his notebook again, showing me the last thing he wrote.

“...alright then,” I say. I felt like I should be worried about an attitude like that. But maybe Jason we just a really proud person. “Do you still have those masks you took from the theater?”

Jason nods happily, seemingly pleased to have a subject change now. “ _Yes! I’ve been working on them so they’re better and I like them a lot!_ ”

I smile a bit. “That’s good, Jason. I’m glad they make you happy. I’ve never met someone with such an attraction to masks.”

“ _Masks are just super cool!_ ” he writes. “ _I really, really like them! I like to make them and I like to wear them!_ ”

Seeing Jason so excited and happy was nice. He seemed like a really kind person. I think I’d get sad if he was ever sad.

I stand up. “Thanks for the cookies, Jason. I’m going to head to bed now. Goodnight.”

Jason waves and I walk off to my room.

I lay down in my bed, sighing. My stomach didn’t hurt so bad anymore. But I felt more worried about the people who got affected by the motive today. That had all looked awful...

I close my eyes and manage to get some sleep for the night.


	6. Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Daily Life Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning below!

I wake up to the morning announcement as usual. I get myself out of bed and get ready for the day. I don’t hesitate to leave the room this time. I knew damn well I’d have to no matter what.

I get to the cafeteria without a problem. And I immediately get a bowl of soup shoved into my face, the liquid nearly spilling onto me. And to my dismay, it was Victor holding the bowl.

“Hey, you wanna take a sip?” he asks with a disgusting grin. “I promise it’s good! My own special recipe!”

I look down into the bowl. The soup was a dull brown and bubbling like it was boiling hot. It smelled like tar. “...I’m going to take a pass,” I murmur. I try to step past him.

Victor grabs my wrist with a tight grip. “Oh come on, I insist!”

I frown and pull on my arm. “Hey, let go of me!” I yank my arm out of Victor’s grip and send him stumbling forward. The bowl drops from his hand and hits the floor. It was plastic, so it didn’t break, br it did spill the soup everywhere.

Victor looks at the mess and pouts. “Aw, I worked hard on that...”

Erika wanders over to him with Damond in tow. She reaches over and pats Victor’s head. “It’s okaaaaaay! We’ll make moooore!”

Damond’s box shakes a little. “I don’t think the demon would like that,” he says as a warning. I still wasn’t sure if he shook it or if that was the box itself.

Victor gets back to his feet. “No one wants to try the food I lovingly made with deadly chemicals.”

“Maybe try using taaaaasty chemicals!” Erika says, giggling to herself.

“How do you know I didn’t?” Victor pouts.

“I think normal ingredients would make the best soup,” Damond murmurs. I don’t think either were listening to him.

Erika helps Victor back onto his feet. “You guys are absolutely insane...” I muttered, putting a band to my head. It was too early in the morning to be dealing with their antics.

“We’re absolutely craaaaaazy!” Erika says. “Totally boooonkers! Complete nutjoooooobs!”

I sigh deeply. Yeah, it was definitely too early for any of this. And thanks to them, I didn’t even get the chance to get myself some breakfast before Monokuma dropped down onto the table.

“You kids know the drill, so hurry it up!” Monokuma shuts.

Everyone walks over and takes their pencil and paper. We all write something down this time and turn the slips in.

Monokuma reads over all of them, humming. “Well! Our big winner for today is...Victor!”

Victor suddenly looks very angry. “Wait, what?! That’s impossible! I demand a recount!”

“You can’t recount a landslide, kid,” Monokuma warns. “And we don’t have time for that anyway! Don’t wanna bore anyone! So let’s get on with it!”

“Which one of you mother fu—GHK!” A noose drops down around Victor in the middle of his yelling and yanks him into the air with a loud choking sound.

Victor was raised high above all of our heads. Both of his hand pulled on the noose as he tried to get it away from him. His legs kick and flail around in the air in his panic.

I was starting to worry Monokuma would leave him up there. But before I could voice my concern, there’s a loud snap as the rope breaks. Victor falls, landing on the floor with a heavy thud. He was breathing deeply and yanks the noose from his throat. He forces himself to his hands and knees, choking and coughing. He looks up at everyone in confusion but couldn’t seem to speak.

Erika and Damon hurry over to Victor, helping him back to his feet. He looks at Monokuma and his eyes widen with panic. He tries to say something but his words die in a choked whisper.

“Just relaaaaax!” Erika says. “We’ll get you to your rooooom!”

Erika and Damond lead Victor out of the room. Monokuma waddles off soon after, giggling to himself.

“Is it just me, or is this motive get worse?” Draco asks worriedly.

“Ah, it appears things will rise in intensity as time goes on,” the cloaked person says. “Perhaps it will come to a point where we lose body parts.”

Chrysta got up and left the room after they had said that.

“Oh, I seem to have upset the rude girl,” they say. “No matter. I know that He will decide her fate when the time comes!”

“Can you stop spitting your religious nonsense for just a few seconds and try to focus on things?” Hiroshi asks. He seemed annoyed. “We don’t want to hear about your make-believe god and your brainwashing cult right now.”

Methuselah nods in agreement. “Yeah...”

The cloaked person scowls angrily. “Heathens like you will rot for all eternity for saying such things like that! And it’s not a cult!”

“Should we really be arguing this right now?” Ishida asks calmly.

“I don’t have to sit here and take this,” the cloaked person says. They storm out angrily.

Hiroshi just shrugs, grinning lazily. He left too, Methuselah trailing behind him. Everyone else soon trickled out of the room.

I left as well. I knew things were going to get worse as time went on, that much was clear. I just hoped it didn’t get so bad that we’d find someone dead on the ground.

I went into the theater to find Ishida and Methuselah fighting. At first, I thought they were using props, but then I saw the massive ax clash against the sword and sparks flew. I knew it was real.

I run over to them. Methuselah was about to swing the ax down when he saw me and stops. “Ark...” he says softly.

Ishida stops and looks at me and nods in recognition.

I get onto the stage and stop in front of them. “What the hell are you two doing? Are you trying to kill each other?” I ask.

“Training...” Methuselah says.

Ishida nods again. “He’s the strongest person here. Decided it was a good idea.”

“You guys looked like you were trying to hurt each other...” I murmur.

“Realism helps makes it better,” Ishida says.

“Right...uh, sorry to interrupt,” I say.

“Train..?” Methuselah asks, turning to face me.

I back up and out my hands up, shaking my head. “N-No. that’s not necessary!”

“Have fun, Methuselah,” Ishida says, leaving.

“What?! No, don’t leave!” I demand. But he was already gone. I look back at Methuselah. He grins wide and readies his ax. I scream and run off. I spend time being chased by Methuselah. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I end up exhausting myself and sink into a chair back in the theater, panting. My legs aches and I couldn’t see to catch my breath. I was also sweating.

Methuselah sits in a chair next to me. Despite my exhaustion and endless running, I had managed to evade Methuselah.

“That...That was awful...” I pant. I’d be more annoyed if I didn’t feel so tired. “Never...do that...again...”

Methuselah grunts softly, nudging me gently. I think he was trying to see if I was okay.

I sway his hand away gently. I was both tired and annoyed. Methuselah gets up and leaves. He returns soon with a bottle of water, handing it to me.

I look at him and hesitantly take the water. He makes a drinking motion so I start to drink it. But after one sip, I was chugging.

Methuselah sets his ax down as he sits this time. I finish my water and gasp for air.

“Better..?” Methuselah asks gently.

I nod a little bit. “Yeah. Better...why don’t you say much?”

He taps his side of his head gently. “Stupid...”

I frown a little bit. “Ah, you shouldn’t say stuff like that about yourself. I’m sure you’re not stupid.”

Methuselah just shrugs a bit.

“Does Hiroshi call you stupid?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. “Nice...” he murmurs.

“Hiroshi is nice to you?” I ask. Honestly wasn’t expecting that. Hiroshi doesn’t seem like the type of person to understand being ‘nice’. Then again, plenty of people here seemed like total assholes, so maybe it was unfair to judge him yet.

Methuselah stands up. “Find...” He walks off, presumably to find Hiroshi. I waved to him as he left.

I left after a bit as well and enter into the game room to relax. The cloaked person was in there, but it took me a second to recognize them. They were laying on the couch lazily, sink into their massive cloak. I almost mistook it for a large blanket spread out on the couch.

They look up at me as I walked over and smiled. Their smile was really creepy but I think it was supposed to be friendly. They sit up, the Cloak making their movements look more fluid and graceful than I would expect them to be. “Ah, it’s the talentless one. Ark, Yes? How nice to have you come to my company.”

“Uh, Yeah, Ark was my name,” I say. “You Uh...What was your name again?”

They laugh gently. “Silly boy. I already stated I possess no name.”

I nod a bit. “Right...”

“Did you come to me perhaps to join me in basking His glory?” they ask. “We’re always accepting new believers.”

I shake my head quickly. I wanted no part of whatever all of that was. “No thanks. I think I’m pretty happy with my current beliefs.”

“Ah, I see. That’s quite alright,” they say. “No point in forcing the non-believers into my beliefs. No one appreciates that.”

I was surprised how well they took that. When I think of people in cults, I don’t expect someone to be polite about their religion getting turned down.

They gently pat the spot on the couch next to them. “If you don’t wish to join my religion, would you at least like to join me for a spell of relaxation?”

I suppose something like that couldn’t hurt, so I sit down next to them. I spend time relaxing with the cloaked person. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“So how did you get into this uh...religion of yours?” I ask. The question had been in the back of my mind for a bit and I was finally too curious to wait.

“Ah, I was born into it,” they say. “I was the first baby to be born since the last sacrifice, which means I was the one to be sacrificed next.”

“That seems a little unfair, don’t you think?” I ask. “I mean, having to die just because you were born at a certain time...”

“It’s not dying,” they correct. “It is a rebirth! The sacrifice of my mortal body is meant to appease Him! The sins of humanity must be paid by someone and I am that choice! Whence my blood is spilled, I shall join Him in his glorious light where I will find eternal glory!”

They way they talked made me a lot more worried for them than before. This stuff has been drilled into their brain since birth and it sounded like they just accepted it all at face value. I couldn’t blame them for something like that, but it was basically brainwashing.

“And...are you happy?” I ask. “Is this what you want?”

The pause for a second. “Ah, I believe you misunderstand. My happiness and my desires mean nothing compared to His will. If it is my destiny to die, then I shall not deny His will.”

Yeah, this was definitely brainwashing. I was worried about them. Maybe I could find some way to help them out of this mindset at some point.

I get up from the couch. “Well, we should hang out again sometime. I’ll see you later.” I wave to them and leave the room.

I went into the cafeteria to get myself some food. Ishida was there, chowing down messily on a hamburger. He had piled it with all kinds of ingredients and was making a mess of his face and the plate.

He looks up as I enter and nods in recognition before taking another massive bite out of his food. I nod back a bit and go get myself some dinner.

I sit down in front of Ishida with my own food, eating it calmly. He finally finishes stuffing his face and belches rudely. I feel like I always saw two different people when I met up with him.

“Thanks for leaving me to deal with Methuselah,” I say, a bit of snark to my voice.

“Did he injure you?” Ishida asks, wiping at his face with a napkin.

“Well, no...” I murmur. All he did was chase me around. He didn’t even try to hit me with his ax.

“Then there’s no problem,” he says.

I guess that was kind of true. But that didn’t mean I liked it any more than I did.

“I can make it up to you, I suppose,” he says. “I’ll make us some floats.” He gets up and heads to the kitchen. He soon walks out with two larger classes filled with soda and ice cream. He slides one over to me and sits down again. I spend time drinking floats with Ishida. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I finish the last of my float. I had ice cream all over my face by then. I wipe it off with my arm. Ishida has finished his before me, having chugged most of it.

“You really don’t act like...well, how I expected a samurai to act,” I say.

“How did you expect me to act?” he ponders.

“Well...like when we first met. Really calm and collected and quiet,” I explain. “But you only act like that sometimes.”

“I act like that more than you’re letting on,” he says.

“Well...sometimes, I guess,” I say. “You’re pretty calm during the motives and during other stuff. But...like, when you were playing against Satoshi the other day you got really mad and loud.”

He frowns a tiny bit. “Well, he’s the one that cheats. I know it...”

“Uh Huh...” I murmur. It sounded like he was s sore loser. “If that’s how you really are, you don’t have to force yourself to try to be calm and collected.”

“I don’t force myself,” he corrects. “That’s just how I am.”

I didn’t believe that very much but I decide I might not want to press on with details.

I got up and put my dishes in the sink. I share my goodbyes with Ishida and head to my room.

I get into bed in time for the nighttime announcement to play. I sigh gently and curl up under my covers. As I fall asleep, I think about how tomorrow would be another day and another motive.

I wish I had been right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanging


	7. Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Killing Life Investigation

I wake up to the morning announcement as usual and slide out of bed. I get ready for the day and pause to look at my stomach in the mirror.

There was a large, ugly bruise covering most of it. Touching it hurt so I tried to avoid doing that. I don’t think there was an internal damage, though. Just the bruise.

I finish getting ready for the day and leave my room, heading to the cafeteria as usual. And as usual, the room was filled with students...only most of them today. A quick scan told me two were missing but I didn’t really feel like figuring out. I figured they’d show up later on.

I go to the kitchen and get myself some cereal for breakfast. As I walked back out, I’m met with Victor. I frown a little. What did he want to try to force me to drink today?

Victor was quiet for a moment and instantly notice the odd shift in personality that seemed to affect him. His eyes were downcast and there was a gentle frown on his face. He looked like he was in trouble.

Victor gently rubs the back of his head. I notice Erika and Damond were nearby. “...I’ve been informed I was very forceful yesterday. I want to apologize for my actions.” He bows politely to me.

I blink, unsure what to say. I glance at Erika and Damond. Both seemed as confused as I did, so I couldn’t blame him for putting Victor up to this. But this was totally uncharacteristic of him.

“What’s with the sudden change of heart?” I ask. “This is...literally nothing like you.”

He stands up straight again. “Oh, did the other me not tell you?”

“The other You..?” I murmur softly.

Victor sighs softly. “Guess not. Then I’m sure this is all very confusing for you. See, the other Victor liked to test things on himself as much as others. And well...do you know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?”

I nod a little. “Yeah...”

“Well, it’s like that,” he says. “But instead of a total monster forming, he just got me. A nicer and more level-headed version of himself. We change around whenever he gets hurt pretty bad. Especially in the head.”

“...oh,” I say. I wasn’t sure how else to respond to that.

He nods. “I don’t share any memories with him and vise versa. But Erika and Damond were kind enough to explain the situation to me. I’m surprised he manages to get two friends already...”

“Honestly, so am I...” I mutter softly.

Victor smiles and laughs gently. “Well, I’ll leave you alone. Again, I’m sorry about the other me. He’s not all there in the head, you could say.”

Victor waves politely to me and walks back over to his two friends. That was super weird and I still wasn’t sure how to react.

I sit down next to Ravenclaw once that was all over and eat my breakfast in peace.

I finish my breakfast and sit there waiting with him. He had a couple packets of pudding sitting nearby, all empty. I could smell the lilac and vanilla from his masks till in the air even though he had zipped it up again. Everyone had gotten very quiet as we sat in silence and waited.

“Is Monokuma late?” Satoshi says, finally breaking the silence.

“How odd, that seems nothing like him,” the cloaked person mentions.

“That black and white shit stain has been rushing us since day goddamn one and now he decides to just kick back and do nothing?!” Bea demands angrily.

“Is anyone going to mention his two of our companions happen to be missing, or is it just me?” Yavin says finally.

Oh, that’s right. Two people were absent from the cafeteria. Everyone looks around, doing personal headcounts and trying to figure things out.

“Jason and Sukai appear to be absent,” Ishida says.

“Jason is typically here first thing in the morning,” Chrysta says. “He’s been making me waffles, as someone such as myself deserves.”

“Do ya ever talk about anything other than yourself?” Eddy squawks angrily.

“Why would I want to?” she retorts.

“Guys, this isn’t important,” I say. “We need to go find the others and make sure everything is okay.”

Damond stands up. “Never fear! The demon shall locate the missing students with no problem! Let’s go!” He walks off, holding the box close as if he was trying to listen to it. We all follow him out.

Damond was right. The demon did manage to find where the two were at. Only after looking in every other room first.

We all entered the game room last, most of us annoyed that Damond kept making excuses for why no one was where he said they were. What we saw put most of us in shock.

Jason was sprawled out on the couch, his body limp and unmoving. Sukai was at an arcade machine. Her face had been forced through the glass. She was equally unresponsive.

“Jason!” Allison yells, running over to him.

“Sukai!” I scream, rushing to her body.

An announcement plays for everyone to hear. **Bing Bing, ding dong!** “A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you can use however you like, the class trial will begin!”

A body. He said a body. So...So that meant only one person was dead..?

There’s a loud gasp from Jason and we all look over. His entire body has stiffened up and his chest was suddenly heaving heavily. The only sound was his deep breathing before he burst into wild sobbing. Allison tried to calm him down.

I look back at Sukai as the realization finally sets in.

Sukai Ikusamori, the SHSL Weapon, was dead.

**New Killing Life - Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind**

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing! But...what choice did I have? I wa staring at a dead body. The body of someone I would have considered a friend. I felt sick...

Jason had to be escorted out of the room by Allison. Ravenclaw walks over to me and gently puts hand on my shoulder.

I finally realized my legs were shaking. Hey give out and I fall against Ravenclaw. I felt his arms wrap around me as the shaking spread through my entire body. “Wh...What...What the hell..?” I manage to say.

Ravenclaw just rubs my back gently, trying to calm me down from my oncoming panic attack. No one else bugs us as they begin to look around the room.

“W-We need to start l-looking around...” Ravenclaw murmurs.

“Wh...Why..?” I ask softly.

“We need t-to investigate for the t-trial.” He looks down at me and I could feel the concern. “Will you b-be okay?”

I take a deep, shaky breath and let it out. Then another. And another. I slowly get back to my feet. I was still shaking slightly but I could stand. I nod gently. “Yeah...”

Ravenclaw nods and pats my head. He heads off to help the others. I had to give myself another moment. I knew I couldn’t skip out on this. I had to help the others. I had to be useful. I had to do this for Sukai.

Taking one more deep breath, I go over to the body to begin my investigation.

Sukai’s face was forced into the glass screen of the arcade machine, leaving it impossible to see. An occasional spark would jump out of the machine and if I touched her, I would get zapped.

Her arms were both locked up on the arcade machine, one tightly holding onto the joystick and the other frozen over the buttons. “...was she...training to play with me..?” I ask softly. I frown a tiny bit and look down. “I’m sorry, Sukai...”

There was also a massive dent in the back of her head. There was no blood or any other signs of damage besides the dent. I frown a little and take a closer look at her body. I could see the places where the glass had sliced her skin. And under it...I saw metal.

Going over to the couch Jason has been laying on, I found a half-eaten brownie sitting on a plate on the table in front of it. I really doubt Jason would have accidentally poisoned it himself. Was it given to him?

Jason’s notebook was laying on the floor. One of the pages was torn out by something was written on the front page. _Do you want a brownie, Sukai?_ was written on that page.

In the kitchen, I discover a whole batch of brownies had been made and then subsequently thrown into the garbage. There was even a box of brownie mix sitting under it all. Also in the garbage was a crumpled up note, which I pull out. _Thanks for brownie—_ was all I could read. I could tell a name has been written there, but it was now gone.

In the science lab, some of the beakers seemed to have been recently used. I could tell a few of the chemicals had been used, too, but I wasn’t smart enough to know what any of them were.

I pull out a fire extinguisher from under one of the cabinets. The canister had been dented inward pretty badly in one spot. I also happen to notice the pencil Jason normally used was sitting in here as well.

“Alright everyone, no more waiting around!” Monokuma says over the announcements. “It’s trial time! Meet at the elevator!”

Everyone did as they were told, meeting up at the elevator. Jason had a new notebook with him, and he was still shaking and sniffling a bit. Allison was calmly rubbing his back and whispering to him.

The elevator doors slide open. The inside was big enough to fit everyone. We all get in hesitantly. The doors close as the last of us enter.

He elevator was still for a moment and we were all waiting for it to move. I could hear the sound of rope losing its tension and look up. That’s when the elevator rockets down quickly.

Everyone screams and tries to grab onto something as we fly downward at incredible speed. I think I felt my feet leave the ground for a second! But just as suddenly as it started, the elevator comes to a sudden halt. Everyone slams into the floor or into each other as it did.

We all groan and slowly get ourselves back onto our feet.

“What the hell was that?” Victor asks. “Wait, where are we?”

“Victor’s baaaaack!” Erika says.

“Great...” Damond mutters.

The doors to the elevator open and we all look over. A bright light filled the elevator. We all slowly walk out and into the trial room. We were ready to face this head on. I took a deep breath as I walked out with the rest. I knew I was ready. So it was time to get this over with. My first class trial has begun!


	8. Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Killing Life Trial Part I

There were seventeen podiums set up in a circle around the room. One for each of us. But the podium meant for Sukai had a portrait of her in it instead. There was a large X painted through her face. No one commented on it, so I decided not to as well.

Monokuma sat on one end of the room in a massive throne made of jewels and gold. The room itself was made with stone walls. It looked extravagant, the floor tiled with marble and the walls a vibrant red. Purple silk curtains were strung up around the room. A large pair of metal doors in the room seemed offset. And the marble floor was disturbed by many tracks for something.

“So why is the floor covered in tracks?” Satoshi asks. “Seems like an odd design choice.”

“You’ll find out later!” Monokuma says. “For now, let’s explain the trial!”

“But we already know the rules,” Eddy says. “Why waste our damn time?”

“Not everyone knows,” he corrects. I could feel his eyes on me. “Now then, for the trial, you’ll all use the evidence you found to debate on who the killer is! When everyone has come to an agreement, you’ll let me know so I can activate the voting sequence! And once you vote for the killer, I’ll punish them...unless you’re wrong! Then I punish everyone else and the killer is set free. So, let’s get the trial under way!”

“Let’s start this by discussing the body,” Hiroshi says. “I looked it over and it was an interesting experience, to say the least.”

“Her head has been forced through the glass of the arcade machine,” Satoshi says. “I lost my favorite game...”

“Someone is dead! Can’t you think about that for a second?” Allison demands.

“But my high score!” Satoshi wails. Was he going to start crying?

“Anyway,” Ravenclaw says, “I-I think it’s safe to say that the d-damage from the machine is what k-killed her.”

“That makes sense,” I say. “Her entire body seemed locked up and I shocked myself just touching her.”

“Hold on just a minute!” Damond says.

I blink. “Uh...yeah? Something wrong?”

“Didn’t you see that massive cave in on her head? It’s pretty clear that killed her!” he demands.

“I...don’t think I can agree,” I say.

Dameon scowls. “Then me and my demon will show you the way! Prepare for battle!”

Wait, battle?! What the hell was he even going on about?! I knew the damage to her head couldn’t have been the cause of death. But it seems like I’d have to get through to Damond to prove it.

“Didn’t you see the body at all?”

“The dent was massive!”

“It would have scrambled her brains!”

“Yeah, I would have,” I say. “But there wasn’t a drop of blood to be seen. A blow like that should have killed her.”

“Why does blood matter here?”

“We all saw that damage!”

“No human could survive that!”

Ah, I saw it! The flaw to his argument! “I’ll cut your words down!” I yell out.

Damond fell silent. In fact, everyone stopped talking. They all just sort of...stared at me.

“D-Did I say something wrong..?” I ask hesitantly.

“Ah, n-no,” Ravenclaw says quickly. “Sorry. J-Just Uh...continue on.”

I nod a bit. “Right uh...anyway, Sukai could have survived a blow like that for one reason. She isn’t a human!”

“I kneeeeew it!” Erika says excitedly. “What is she? Hmmmm? Is she an oniiii? A ghoooost? A deeeeeemon?”

I shake my head. “No, she was an android!”

Erika’s smile falls. “Aaaaaaw...”

“Wait, how do you know she was an android?” Ishida asks. “How could you have possibly known?”

“Some of the glass cut up her face,” I say. “I could see metal under it. And besides, here wasn’t a drop of blood anywhere around the body. If she was human, she would have begun bleeding from the attack.”

“Ah, that makes logical sense,” the cloaked person agrees. “Which would mean she could have potentially survived the blow to the head, yes?”

I nod. “Yeah, that’s right. But I think getting forced into the arcade machine electrocuted her. It fried her hardware or something and that’s what killed her.”

“Well then I guess we can end this trial,” Satoshi says. “It’s not like anyone died!”

“ _What are you talking about?_ ” Jason writes.

“Well, since Sukai was a robot, that means she wasn’t a person. So it doesn’t matter that she died! It doesn’t count!” Satoshi explains.

“That’s an awful thing to say!” I demand. “Sukai was still a person, robot or not! That doesn’t change who she was!”

“Are you saying you would let one of us die for a robot?” Satoshi responds. “What a predictable thing for you to say. You’re an all new kind of boring, huh? Haha!”

“That person still hurt Jason,” Allison says. “So I don’t care if you don’t think they killed someone or not. They’re still dangerous and they could do it again.”

“I have to agree,” Hiroshi says. “Besides, the trial has already started. No backing out now.”

“So if we can move on then,” Chrysta says. “It would appear as though no weapons were found at the scene of the crime.”

“It was probably hidden or destroyed,” Victor says. “Y’know, whatever it was. Why leave something so obvious just out in the open and junk?”

“Or maybe it was put back,” Draco says.

“Wait, What?” I ask.

Draco looks over. “Oh uh...I just mean, what if the killer put the weapon back where they found it? No blood means no mess!”

“Yeah, that’s right!” I say. “The weapon was put back!”

“Woah! I was right!” Draco says happily.

“How the hell is dumbo over there right?” Bea demands. “He’s got a pea for a brain!”

“But he’s still right,” I say. “If there was no blood or any mess, it would make sense for the killer to just put the weapon back where they found it.”

“But how can we decide who had that weapon?” Eddy asks. “If it’s been put away, there’s no way we can prove it!”

“No, we can!” I demand. “I found the weapon in the science lab. It was a fire extinguisher.”

“And how do you know thaaaaaat’s the weapon?” Erika asks.

“Because the fire extinguisher had a massive dent in it,” I say. “Using metal to hit metal would cause both to dent. And I doubt Monokuma would leave us a broken fire extinguisher.”

“That makes sense,” Hiroshi says. “So we know Sukai was killed by the fire extinguisher hitting her into the arcade machine. But isn’t that only one mystery?”

“I think we should talk about Jason right now,” Allison says. “We need to decide what happened to him.”

“Jason, can you recount anything about what happened last night?” the cloaked person asks him.

“ _I went into the game room to relax for a bit before bed. Sukai was playing at the arcade machine but she didn’t notice me. Someone gave me a brownie and t made me sleepy,_ ” he writes.

“Do you remember who gave it to you?” Victor asks curiously.

He shakes his head. He seemed a bit bummed out by it.

“How do we know we can trust this anecdote?” Chrysta asks.

“What do you mean?” Allison asks. “Jason wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

“You can’t prove that,” she replies.

Allison frowns a bit but didn’t seem to have a rebuttal. Was it possible Jason was lying to us? I didn’t believe that, but I needed to prove it. I just had to think.

_Could Jason’s alibi be a lie?_

It could be.

_How do we know?_

Jason’s notebook has a message in it for Sukai.

_Is it possible it was faked?_

Yes, it is.

_How can we prove that?_

The torn out message.

“I have the answer!” I shout out. Everyone’s attention is drawn to me. “I can prove Jason isn’t lying!”

“How..?” Methuselah asks.

“The message from his notebook,” I say.

“The message? The one asking Sukai if she had wanted a brownie?” Chrysta asks. “Rather suspicious if you ask me. And obviously I’m correct. I’m—“

“—perfect,” everyone says in unison.

Chrysta blinks, surprised for a second. “Yes! Of course!”

“But that message could easily be faked,” I say, moving things along. “Not to mention what I found in the garbage can...”

“What..?” Methuselah asks.

“The rest of the brownies were thrown away and there was also a piece of paper from Jason’s notebook,” I say. “It was him thanking someone for a brownie, but the name was erased.”

“How suspicioooous!” Erika comments. “So the whoooooole batch was poooooooisoned?”

I shake my head. “We can’t prove that.”

“But what was the brownie poisoned with?” the cloaked person asks.

“Some stuff in the science lab was used,” Damond says. “The demon remembers that.”

“Can the demon actually tell us something more specific or is that all we get?” Yavin asks.

“Well now you get nothing,” Damond hisses angrily.

Yavin rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever...”

“I think we can already guess our killer,” Satoshi says.

“Wh-What? Already?” Ravenclaw asks.

“Of course!” Satoshi says. “The killer is our very own Chrysta! Haha!”

“What the fuck did you just say?!” Chrysta yells. “I’m not going to be accused by a limp noodle like you!”

“But what he says makes sense,” Hiroshi says. “A SHSL Toxicologist would poison someone in a murder, wouldn’t they?”

“But that doesn’t prove it was Chrysta,” the cloaked person says.

“Exactly!” Damond agrees. “What about Victor or Methuselah? They could make poison pretty easily. Hiroshi could, too! Hell, how do we know none of us could? We barely know each other!”

“But wouldn’t a problem arise if the wrong amount was made?” Victor says. “I think someone with a telnet like her would get it right!”

“Are you as deaf as you are stupid?!” Chrysta demands. “Any one of us could have done it! Even if we pay attention to talents only, there’s still a few people. You included!”

This was becoming an issue. It felt like everyone was becoming divided on this one issue. How were we going to move past this?

“It looks like we’re split right down the middle,” the cloaked person says.

“Split down the middle?!” Monokuma asks. “Perfect!”

“Why is that perfect?” Yavin asks.

Monokuma’s grin widens. “Because now we can really get the trial going!”


	9. Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Killing Life Trial Part II

“What...What the hell is he talking about..?” Bea asks nervously.

“You mean you guys have no idea?” I ask.

No one had a response for me. That only made me more nervous.

“I can finally use the all new Terramorphing Trial Grounds!” Monokuma cheers happily.

“Terra—whatta..?” Methuselah asks.

“It means that the environment is going to start changing,” Satoshi says. “Sounds interesting! Haha!”

“When a split in the group’s opinion happens, the only true way to battle it out is through the Terramorphing Trial Grounds!” Monokuma says. “The two sides will be pitted against each other until one remains supreme! It’s super fast, super exciting, and super new!”

“I super hate it,” Yavin grumbles.

“Let’s get morphing!” Monokuma cries out. He pushes a small button on the arm of his throne.

All of our stands lock us in and pop up a bit. They all had wheels on the bottom of them. The sound of engines roar to life and we all begin to whizz and fly across the tracks along the floor until two groups were lined up, facing each other.

“We’ll be debating between whether Chrysta is the killer or if someone else could have done it!” Monokuma says. “On the side saying it was Chrysta we have: Hiroshi, Methuselah, Allison, Erika, Victor, Martha, Satoshi, and Yavin! On the side saying it could be someone else we have: Ark, Ravenclaw, Jason, Chrysta, Ishida, the sacrifice, Damond, and Eddy! Let the debates begin!”

I stare at the others across from us nervously. I couldn’t back down now. We had to show them the truth!

Hiroshi’s stand slides forward first. “It’s pretty clear Jason’s brownie was poisoned by a master of poisons.”

Chrysta’s slides forward against him. “Clear my ass! Any one of us could have made that! You don’t have to be a master in it to do it!”

Allison’s slides forward now. “But Jason saw his attacker, so he can prove it!”

Jason’s slides forward against her. “ _I don’t remember seeing anyone. I can’t say something like that and be honest._ ”

Methuselah slides forward next and points at Jason. “Victim...”

I slide toward Methuselah this time. “No, Jason couldn’t have been the victim! He said Sukai was in the room before he got the brownie, so she would have been a witness. And as far as any of us now, there’s no particular reason Jason was targeted other than poor timing.”

Erika rolls up now. “But the poison was clearly made to kiiiiill by that crazy girl!”

Eddy goes against her. “That’s insane! Jason woulda died after one damn bite if he was suppose to be killed!”

Victor rolls to the front. “Wouldn’t someone like Chrysta make sure the amount of poison was perfect?”

The cloaked person clashes with Victor. “It’s preposterous to assume any accuracy within the dosage. All we know is that it put Jason into a weakened state temporarily!”

Satoshi rides up next. “Chrysta would obviously want the motive to end badly enough to kill.”

Ravenclaw goes up against him. “T-Tons of us wanted the m-motive to end. We c-can’t assume the reason for k-killing this quickly!”

Yavin slides forward next. “Sukai would have been picked by someone who brags about perfection for being an android immune to the motive.”

Damond is sent against him. “Bullshit! Not even the demon could tell she was never human! We have no way to have known before this murder.”

Martha flies up. Bea puts her hands on her hips. “Someone so goddamn crazy about themselves would kill to get out of this place unhurt!”

Ishida crashes with her. “None of us want to be here right now. That’s not enough to convict her yet!”

The two groups’ podiums fight and push against each other. The engines roar loudly as they try to push the other back. But eventually, the other group relents and our podiums push them back to place.

“This is the answer we discovered together!” the eight of us yell out.

All the podiums fall back into place as that ended.

“We’re focusing too much on the poison,” I say. “We can’t use that alone to convict Chrysta of anything. We need more evidence.”

“Is it possible anyone knew Sukai would be in the room at the time?” Ishida asks. “Perhaps someone knowing her schedule would know.”

“What was she even doing in there?” Satoshi says. “She didn’t even know how to play video games! Haha!”

“She was training herself,” I say. “Because I showed her how to play. And I think she wanted to challenge me at the game...”

“Woah! That means that our boring, bland, normal, uninteresting friend here is a trial suspect!” Satoshi says excitedly. “What a plot twist!”

“Wh-What?! Just because I knew why she was playing them doesn’t mean I knew she’d be in there!” I demand.

“Someone could have always walked in and saw her,” Yavin reminds. “Since Jason was there already, it could mean they saw her as the easier one to attack and they simply incapacitated Jason.”

“Jason, honey, are you positive you can’t remember anything about the person that poisoned you?” Allison asks.

Jason looks down at his feet, very clearly thinking very hard about it. Then he nods. “ _I remember I couldn’t see their face,_ ” he writes.

“Well that certainly narrows down the subjects,” Hiroshi says. “That leaves us with...Eddy, Ravenclaw, and Chrysta.”

“What about Methuselah?” Victor asks.

“He’s an executioner, not a murderer,” Hiroshi replies, grinning lazily. “He doesn’t kill unless it’s by direct order.”

“That’s not proof of anything,” I say.

Hiroshi sighs and wave a hand dismissively. “Very well, Methuselah will be on the suspect list to make you feel better.”

“That leaves us with four people,” Satoshi says. “And two of them would know how to work with poisons.”

“We just decided it wasn’t me!” Chrysta demands.

“No, we decided not t’ vote for ya yet,” Draco corrects. “Could still be ya!”

Chrysta grumbles and crosses her arms.

“B-But that’s still too many people,” Ravenclaw murmurs. “How c-can we possibly pick..?”

“I think it’s safe to say Eddy doesn’t have much knowledge on poisons,” I say.

“Are ya saying I’m stupid?!” Eddy demands angrily.

“I-I didn’t say that!” I say quickly. “I’m just saying you don’t seem like the type to Uh...know how to make a paralyzing poison and use it during a murder.”

Eddy huffs and crosses his arms. I don’t think he was satisfied with that answer.

“Well, there’s no way we can decide it seems,” Chrysta says. “We simply have nothing else to talk about. There’s simply no way to prove who poisoned all the brownies.”

...wait...what did she just say? Something...Something about that didn’t sound right. No...of course. Of course!

“We can decide the killer,” I say suddenly. Everyone looks at me.

“What? How can we do such a thing?” the cloaked person says.

“Because the killer already revealed themselves!” I demand.

I was confident in this answer. It was a crazy way to come up with it, but it had to be right. I knew the killer was..!


	10. Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Killing Life Trial Part III

“How did the killer reveal themselves?” Damond asks.

“Seems like a duuuuumb thing to dooooo!” Erika giggles.

“The killer said something that just doesn’t sit right with me,” I say. “Something that they shouldn’t know.”

“Are you going to tell us what that is or continue being vague?” Chrysta asks.

“Chrysta...a moment ago, you said all the brownies were poisoned, right?” I ask.

She nods. “That I did.”

“That’s what I thought...” I say softly. “Chrysta...you’re the killer!”

“Whaaaaat?!” Erika yells in shock.

“Haha! I was right!” Satoshi declares.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Chrysta demands. “You were just helping prove it wasn’t me!”

“No, I was helping prove we shouldn’t vote for you yet,” I say. “But with that slip of the tongue, that proves it.”

“How does such a thing prove it?” the cloaked person says.

“I’m curious if that myself,” Ishida adds.

“Chrysta said that all the brownies had been poisoned,” I say. “But we had no way to know that. The brownie Jason ate could have been the only one poisoned. Or he could have been injected while distracted. Or maybe it was a gas. But Chrysta specifically said all the brownies, like she already knew. And the only way she could know is if she did it herself!”

“That m-might be why the brownies were t-tossed into the trash,” Ravenclaw says. “So we c-couldn’t test them.”

“This...This is insane!” Chrysta demands. “Going off of a simple slip of the tongue? Is that all you’ve got?!”

“Someone like you who strives for perfection wouldn’t make an assumption like that,” I counter. “Not unless they already knew the answer!”

Chrysta’s hands curl into tight fists. She was shaking with rage.

“Do you have anything to say about this, Chrysta?” Yavin asks.

“Do I have anything to say about this..? Of course I do!” she screams. “You think I’m going to take these accusations lying down?! Never! I’m as innocent as I am perfect!”

“Then you must be pretty damn guilty,” Victor says, snickering.

“Shut up!” she screams. “How do any of you know Jason didn’t do any of this?! He could be faking everything!”

“Chrysta, that’s insane,” Allison says.

“You all think he’s so great!” Chrysta demands. “Just because he cries all the time. You’re just defending him because you like him more than me!”

“Chrysta, that’s not true!” I say. “Jason can’t be the killer, we already decided that. The killer has to be you!”

“Enough of this!” she yells. “I won’t take this sander anymore! You have a lot of nerve you greasy meatball. I’ll end this nonsense here and now!”

It didn’t seem like Chrysta was going to admit it yet. I’d have to get through her to end this. If she was going to give it everything she had, so would I!

“Jason can’t be the—“

“ _Stop talking already!_ ”

“—killer because of the—“

“ _You’re a worthless pile of crumbs!_ ”

“—handwriting on the messages—“

“ _I won’t stand for this slander!_ ”

“—were completely different!”

“So he changed his handwriting!” Chrysta demanded. “So what?! He’s still clearly the killer! There’s no way to prove he isn’t!”

This was it! This was the moment of truth! “That’s where you’re wrong!” I yell out.

Chrysta freezes up, looking shocked. “H...How can I be wrong..?”

“All we’d have to do is test your handwriting to prove it,” I say. “If the handwriting matches, then we have our killer.”

Chrysta seemed frozen in place, like a statue. Her eyes had a distant look in them.

“Are you going to do the test or can we finally stop this song and dance?” Ishida asks.

“...the stupid bear was trying to ruin my body,” she says weakly. “My perfectly sculpted body...was being chipped away at. What...What choice did I have..?”

I sigh softly. “Let’s put the entire thing together to make sure we understand everything.”

“The murder was probably first planned when the cloaked guy mentioned losing body parts. The killer had stormed out and began plotting their murder. I don’t think Sukai was picked for any particular reason. It was just bad timing. Jason and Sukai were both in he room and the killer knew it would be suspicious to make one leave, but killing both could be difficult. So they have to incapacitate one. Sukai’s talent as the SHSL weapon would make her harder to knock out, so Jason was the choice. They made a paralyzing poison to knock him out and put it into some brownie mix. She gave the brownie to Jason and he hate it after having her. Once he was knocked out, she got a fire extinguisher from the science lab and used it to beat Sukai’s head in. But that didn’t kill her. She was a robot. So the killer has to do it until she had broken through the screen of the arcade machine and died. After that, she erased her name from Jason’s message and tore it out, writing a false one. She put the fire extinguisher back, leaving the pencil in the lab. Then she through Jason’s message and the brownies away. After that, all she had to do was pretend to be innocent and force the blame on Jason,” I explain. “Did I miss anything, Chrysta?!”

“I...I was defeated...by some nobody loser?!” Chrysta demands angrily. “What the fuck is this bullshit?!”

“So you admit it?” Allison asks.

“...yes...” Chrysta finally says. She sounded defeated. “The perfection of my body...it was being ruined. What choice did I have?!”

“Oh come on, we both know that’s a lie,” Monokuma says.

She glared at him. “Can’t you shut your trap for one second?!”

“Wait, what is he talking about?” I ask.

“That’s none of your business!” Chrysta demands angrily.

“Show them now or I’ll do it for you.” Monokuma’s class pop up. “And I won’t be gentle!”

Chrysta looked like she wanted to protest, but her shoulder slump before any words got out. “Fine...” She reaches up and grabs her surgical mask. Then she pulls it off her face.

Chrysta’s entire mouth was horribly scarred. Bits of her lips were missing, showing the gums and teeth. The scarred parts looked discolored as well.

“Chrysta, what...what happened..?” I ask softly.

“...it was an acid attack...” she says softly. “It was splashed in my face and...and the doctors could only do so much to fix me...my perfect body has been ruined for years now...” She reaches up and gently touches the scarring. “They laughed at me. They called me names. They thought I was a _freak_. But...But they were wrong. I am beautiful! I-I am perfect! I’m like a venomous animal or a poisonous plant. I’m pretty and wonderful outside...but inside, I’m nothing but toxic...isn’t that what someone as perfect as me should be..?”

“Well! I’m bored!” Monokuma says. “Let’s get on with the voting! So, will you make the right choice or he dreadfully wrong one?”

Without much of a choice, everyone puts in their vote.

‘“Oh, I’m so excited! Let’s see the results in person!” Monokuma declares.

A picture of everyone pops up on the screens installed on our podiums. Sukai’s face was crossed off like her portrait’s. Fifteen votes pop up next to Chrysta’s face. One appeared next to Jason’s.

Confetti rains down from the ceiling. “That’s right!” Monokuma cheers. “Chrysta Flerovi, he SHSL Toxicologist, is the killer!”

Chrysta didn’t seem to have anything to say. She just stared down, hands curled into fists with one hand crumpling up her mask.

“Well, we don’t have a second to waste! Say it with me, everyone! It’s PUNISHMENT TIIIIIME!” Monokuma cheers.

Her pulls out a mallet and slams it down onto a button in front of him. All of our podiums lock us in. The screens all flash green with a picture of a happy Monokuma on it...except for Chrysta. Hers turns red with a very angry Monokuma on it.

The wheels pop out of our podiums again and we all ride around until we were on either side, facing the middle. Chrysta was in the center, facing the large doors. All eyes were on her.

A bead of sweat rolls down Chrysta’s face as she stares at her screen. The large doors open and he engine on her podiums roars to life. There’s a loud screech and it rides off into the doors, disappearing into the darkness with only Chrysta’s loud screaming left behind...until that finally faded, too. A video begins playing on our podiums.

**Chrysta Flerovi has been found guilty.**

**Commencing the punishment...**

Chrysta’s podium continues to rocket along the track, heading down a sharp incline. Dim lights were the only thing warding away darkness, Chrysta’s fearful face flashing by each time she flew past them.

Her podium was only gaining momentum as she hurled along. The front of it swings open and she grabs tightly onto the sides. Her podium comes to a sudden halt at the end of a track, launching Chrysta off of it and down to the ground.

Chrysta falls for a moment before slamming hard into the ground. She slowly gets up, dazed but alive. She was standing in the middle of a lush jungle, full of life and filled with the sounds of animals. And then...it began to rain...and the rain burned like acid...

**Toxic Love**

Chrysta screams in both pain and terror as she’s pelted with acid rain. She runs off, trying to protect herself with her arms. The rain only burned holes into her clothes and started to turn her skin red.

The plants around her started to decay and whither as the harsh rain pelted them and killed them. Chrysta wouldn’t be able to find any cover under the eroding trees. But, she would find some in a large cave!

She hurries in, panting in exhaustion. Her clothes were burning off and her skin was, too. There was a glistening pool of fresh water nearby that she dives into to wash away the acid. But something dark in the water moves toward her. Something slithering right for her.

Chrysta yells in pain and surprise as something bites her under the water. She quickly pulls herself out to see a snake wrapped tightly around her leg.

Chrysta couldn’t help but grin. Was this all the bear had? One snake?! She built up quite the immunity with venom, one puny snake wouldn’t kill her! In fact, she loved snakes! Nothing so venomous could scare her! The sounds of hisses fills the cave.

More snakes slither out of the shadows and toward Chrysta, slithering onto her body and wrapping around her or climbing up her. They bite her here and there, trying to fill her with as much venom as possible.

Chrysta looked dazed but not worried. She was still confident everything would be fine. She’s leave and escape once the rain passes! The sound of very loud hissing comes from right above.

She looks up to see the tail of an anaconda wrap tightly around her neck. Her eyes widen and it lifts her off the ground. She gags and struggles, pulling on the tail and flailing her legs around wildly. Chrysta’s struggles slowly begin to taper off as the grip gets stronger. It’s not long before a loud, desperate gasp for breath escapes her...and then all sound and movement stops.

Her body goes limp, head dipping to the side. He snakes surrounding her slide off and the one holding onto her neck slowly pulls her up until she couldn’t be seen anymore.

I stare in shock as the video comes to an end and our podiums release us. My stomach twisted in tight knots and my knees shook under me. I wanted to scream and vomit at the same time.

“What...What the hell was that..?” I ask weakly.

“That...was one of M-Monokuma’s executions,” Ravenclaw replies.

“And there’ll be plenty more where that came from!” the bear cheers. “Just you wait! Now, get out! Go to bed!”

Everyone heads to the elevator in silence. Ravenclaw has to help me walk there. My mind was blurring everything together as shock set in. Before I knew it, I was laying in bed and staring st the ceiling.

I just laid there, quiet. I didn’t make a sound. I didn’t move. I didn’t breath. And after holding like that for a moment, I broke down into tears.

I curls up tightly under my pills, hiding under the covers of my bed and sobbing into my hands. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t belong! I was just some normal kid! Why did I have to be stuck here at all? Why...Why did it have to be me..?

That night, I cried myself to sleep.

**Chapter 1: A Ruined Body Is a Ruined Mind - Completed!**

Ark, Ravenclaw, ~~Chrysta~~ , Jason, Allison, Erika, Martha, Eddy, Satoshi, Ishida, Hiroshi, Methuselah, Yavin, ~~Sukai~~ , ???, Damond, Victor


	11. Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Daily Life Part I

**New Daily Life - Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever**

The morning announcement wakes me up the next day. I don’t have the energy to get it if bed and face the others. I just want to curl up and pretend I was at home with my family. Or back in the orphanage in America. Or with my birth parents or...or anywhere but here!

There’s some loud knocking at the door. Someone called my name. I wasn’t sure who; I didn’t listen. I pulled my blanket over my head and buried my face into my knees.

The knocking gets louder. In fact, I think someone was banging on it. More voices call my name. Then more loud banging. They weren’t going to leave me alone, were they?

I get out of bed and march over to the door. I open it, about ready to give them all a piece of my mind when Jason hugged me tightly. He squeezed out all my air with it.

“I kn-knew you were in your room,” Ravenclaw says, standing next to Jason.

“You had the big guy worried,” Allison comments, off to the other side of Jason.

“Is he dead? Is he dead?” Erika asks, bouncing over with Victor and Damond in tow. “Ooooh! He’s alive! Yaaaay!”

Why were so many people here? Did they all come to check on me?

Jason sets me down and pats my head. He seems happy.

“Um...Sorry,” I say. What was I going to tell them? That I freaked out and curled up like a baby? “...I must have slept through the announcement. Long day, yesterday.”

“It’s okay, we understand that,” Allison says. “Jason made us all breakfast and got worries when you didn’t come to eat.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Jason. Is there any left?” I ask.

He nods excitedly and hands me a plate. It was two eggs and some bacon formed to shape a smile. I smile a tiny bit seeing it and start eating it. “Thanks...”

“By the way!” Victor says. “We got a new floor! We have got to check it out!”

“A new floor?” I ask.

“In killing games, n-new areas are t-typically opened up Uh...after trials,” Ravenclaw says. “It’s like a Uh...a reward for surviving.”

“How lucky of us...” I murmur.

“We should go check it out,” Damond says. “The demon is very interested...”

The seven of us head to the elevator. One of the buttons inside had litten up. I press it and the elevator takes us down. Slowly, thankfully.

The elevator stops with a din and the doors open. All of us step out. The hall was black with colored lights keeping things lit up. We could hear music coming from somewhere, most likely one of the other rooms. The hall was in a circle much like the one above us, but there was no extension for a hallway here.

I head down to the left and enter the first room I came across. I ended up inside the room the music seemed to come from.

It was a club. There was a large dance floor out in the center of the room. A DJ table at to the very back. Several loudspeakers filled with room, all massive and blaring music. Some stage lights kept the room lit up. There were options for normal lights, dimmed lights, and colored lights. There were a few table sitting around where we could order snacks and drinks. There wasn’t any kind of options for turning the music down or off. I had to leave because the music was too much.

Farther down the hall was a karaoke bar. There were a few booths you could enter to sing privately or in small groups with karaoke machines set up in each one. A few chairs were set up around the rooms for waiting. Off to the left was a stage with another karaoke machine for live performances.

I sit down in one of the chairs and close my eyes. Ah...it was so comfortable. I could feel myself sinking into the soft cushion now. I could feel myself slowly drifting off to sleep...

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doin’?!” A familiar voice yells.

I shriek in surprise and jump, looking up quickly to see Eddy. He was glaring down at me unapprovingly, hands resting on his hips. “Sleepin’ in undesignated areas is against the rules! Are ya tryin’ to get yourself killed?!”

“Er...no, sorry,” I say. I got up from the chair.

Eddy huffs and nods, walking off and grumbling to himself. That was weird...but helpful. I left the room, too.

The last room in the area was a voice recording studio. There was one side of the room with the entrance that had all the recording equipment and some chairs and a mini-fridge while the other side was the sound booth with the microphones.

I head into the recording booth to mess around with it and just record some silly stuff to play back to myself when I finished.

Victor, Erika, and Damond all walk in while I was in the sound booth. I quickly stop singing off key for fun and left the booth.

“Hey guys, what are Uh...what are you three up to?” I ask.

“Just looking aroooound!” Erika says happily. “I liked the biiiig noisy room!”

“That room upsets the demon’s ears...” Damond murmurs. The box shook a little.

“Poor Fluffy!” Erika says, pouting.

“...Fluffy..?” Damond asks.

“Yeeeeah! Fluffy! That’s what I’m naming the demoooon!” she cheers.

Damond blushes a tiny bit and scowls. “He is a ferocious monster that is far above simple pet names!”

“Fluffy! Fluffy! Fluffy!” she sings, spinning around on one foot.

“So, what were ya doing in the sound booth?” Victor asks me while the other two argued over the demon’s name.

“Oh uh...just messing around with the recording equipment,” I say. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be a voice actor, actually. Maybe you guys can consider me the SHSL Voice Actor...heh...” I don’t know why I just said that.

“Oh, I got some experimental stuff to help with voices!” Victor rummages around inside his coat. “Do you want a falsetto? I got one with a helium base that should work. Oh! Or I can make your voice deep, too! Think about how manly you’d sound!”

“For the last time, I’m not drinking any of your crap!” I demand.

“Fine, you can call him Fluffy!” Damond snaps, ending the argument that had been going on in the background.

“Yaaaaaay!” Erika cheers.

These three were a little too much sometimes. I left the room, sighing deeply. Maybe I should just go hang out with someone for a bit.

I ran into Yavin in the theater. It looked like he was setting up some kind of glass cage he wheeled out. He looks at me and grins, waving. “Hey! Just the man I wanted to see!”

“Is that true or are you saying that because you want me to do something?” I ask him.

He thinks for a moment. “The second one. Come here and help me!”

I sigh deeply and walk over. “Yeah, what do you want?” I ask.

“I need some helping getting my water escape act set up!” he says.

I got the feeling I couldn’t back out now that I was over here. “What do you need help with?”

“I need help filling it up with water, duh! There are some buckets with the props you can use,” he explains.

“You want me to fill your tank up with buckets of water?! That’s crazy!” I demand.

“I’ll let you watch me practice if you do it,” he says.

Watching a SHSL Escape Artist actually escape something could be interesting. “Ugh, Fine. Only because you won’t be taking no for an answer.”

“That’s the spirit!” Yavin says happily.

I grumble and go grab a bucket. I spend time helping Yavin set up his act. The two of us grew a little closer today.

Just like he promised, Yavin let me watch him do his act after we had gotten the tank set up. And I had to admit...it was pretty interesting.

I got a towel for Yavin after he pulled himself out of the tank. He was sopping wet, but I guess it was better than seeing him drown.

“I’ll admit, that was kind of worth it,” I say.

Yavin smirks and crosses his arms after drying his hair out. “Of course it was. You watched my talent in action. But that was only practice. The real one has sharks involved! And a drop of blood.”

What?! He already locks himself in chains and adds in a smaller cage and I think he only barely got out of that. How did he do something so extreme and not die?!

“Is there some kind of trick to what you do? Like, what happens if you get hurt or stuck?” I ask.

“The only trick is to survive! There’s no fun without an adrenaline rush! You should give it a try sometime!” he says excitedly.

Yavin seems like the kind of guy you hear about in the news that dies doing some stupid stunt. But I think that’s how he’d want to go out, too. “I’ll have to pass on that offer.”

He frowns a bit. “Aw, come on! I could use a stagehand! What if I need some extra help getting things set up?”

“I don’t feel like being responsible of manslaughter if something goes wrong,” I murmur.

“You and the last ten cowards that wouldn’t take the job! Oh, whatever. I do fine on my own! I’ve got some more work to do, im not getting out fast enough. You can go,” he says. He turns away from me to get back to work.

I wanted to stay and make sure he didn’t accidentally kill himself, but it sounded like he had been ordering me rather than suggesting it to me. So I left the room.

I found Jason in the recording room. He was tinkering around with the recording equipment. I’m positive he can’t talk, so it’s probably more likely he was trying to figure out how it works.

I walk over to him. “Hey there, Jason. What are you up to?” I ask.

Jason jumps a bit and looks at me. He must not have heard me come in. He presses the delete button on the recording equipment and grabs his notebook. “ _Nothing! Just playing with this weird machine._ ”

The only thing weird here was how Jason was acting. “Did you record something before I walked in?”

He quickly shakes his head and kept his notebook held up. That was probably the only explanation I was going to get from him.

“Do you want me to show you how this stuff works?” I ask. “I knows the basics.”

Jason looks back at the equipment then to me. He gives a little nod.

I smile softly and walk over. I spend time teaching Jason how to using the recording equipment. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“Jason, are you sure you can’t talk?” I ask him after a moment.

He looks away and nods quickly. He didn’t write anything down.

“Then how come you want to use this stuff?” I ask next.

Jason hesitates a moment, but soon realizes he didn’t have an excuse. “ _I’m not supposed to._ ”

I frown a little after reading that. “Not supposed to what? To talk?”

Jason nods quietly. I could tell he was uncomfortable talking about this, but now I was worried.

“Who told you not to talk? Was it someone here? Was it the bear?” I ask.

Jason quickly shakes his head. His grip tightens on his notebook. Before I got the chance to ask more questions, he hurried out of the room.

I sigh deeply as he left. Was someone bullying Jason? Or was it more serious than that? He didn’t seem to want to tell me. I left the room.

I found Victor working in the science lab. He as mixing some stuff together. I wasn’t sure what he was using or making, but I didn’t care. I tried to leave without him noticing me, but I was too late.

“Ark! Hey! Come here!” he says excitedly.

I grumble a little and walk over. “What do you want, Victor?”

“I got some stuff I want you to try! Come on, just a small taste!” he says.

I scowl angrily. “For the last damn time, Victor! I won’t drink your random crap! Stop asking me!”

Victor frowns a little. “Well, fine. Can you at least help me work on it? I’m using to have assistants, but Erika is off playing with Damond.”

“Do I have to test anything?” I ask him.

“Please, I need my assistants alive if I'm going to us them,” he replies nonchalantly.

I decide to take that as a no and walk over to him. I spend time making concoctions with Victor. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“So his long have you been Uh...two of you?” I ask him after some time.

“Hm? Ah, about...four years now, I’d say,” he replies. “Total freak accident! I was trying to see if I hid increase my intelligence! I decided it was because it simply couldn’t get higher.”

“Careful with that ego, it might pop,” I say sarcastically. “Or you might end up butting heads with Satoshi.”

“Ah, the inventor! I really wanna make some good with him!” he says excitedly. “Two great minds are better than one! And maybe we can perfect some stuff together!”

All I imagine happening is the two arguing over something stupid and getting in a fight. Not exactly my ideal choice of events. “Just don’t make him into two Satoshi’s. One is enough.”

Victor laughs and pats my back. “You’re a funny one! Maybe I shouldn’t be using you as a guinea pig!”

“Wow, thanks...” I wasn’t sure if I should take that as an actual compliment or not. Coming from Victor, I probably should.

“I’d day we’re done for the day. Feel free to come help out whenever you want!” Victor says happily. He waves and heads off.

I sigh deeply and head to my room. Today had been emotionally draining. I just needed to get in bed and get some sleep.

I laid down and closes my eyes. I was pretty close to passing out with a low hiss filled the room. My eyes open and I sit up. What was that? A snake? How did a snake get in my room?

I get up and look around. No snake. Actually, it sounded more like the sound a balloons makes when you empty it out. It was the sound of gas!

I start looking around my room, trying to find the source of the sound. But it was gone before I could. That was weird.

I get back into bed and close my eyes...but I couldn’t get to sleep. I tossed and turned all night, but never fell asleep. I ended up staying up the whole time. I didn’t get a wink of sleep.


	12. Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Daily Life Part II

The morning announcement plays the next day and I open my eyes. Nothing. Not once did I get even a millisecond of sleep.

I groan and get out of bed. I felt even more exhausted than when I got into bed. But I honestly didn’t want to deal with the others bothering me right now. They probably slept a lot better than me. I get ready for the day and leave the room.

I entered the kitchen, yawning. I look around, about ready to ask everyone else how they’re night went when I paused. Everyone looked tired, too. Some of the others had their heads on the table or were trying to sleep. Others had to prop heir heads up with their hands. Half of them had food but weren’t even touching it.

“What the hell is going on here..?” I murmur.

“No one got any,” Martha pauses to yawn while using Draco, “sleep.”

“The demon was able to sleep comfortably,” Damond says gently.

“Yaaaaay...” Erika murmurs. Even she seemed less energetic than normal.

“Good for the demon, but what about us?” Ishida asks. “What’s happening?”

“I can answer that!” Monokuma says as he drops down onto the table.

“Never mind, we don’t want to know,” Satoshi says sleepily.

“Ah come on, it's very simple! What happened last night that was not normal but happened to everyone? Can’t anyone answer that?” he asks.

“Are you speaking about that odd hissing noise from the night?” the cloaked person asks. “At first, I had suspected He had been trying to speak with me.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” Monokuma says. “See, I just decided to infect all of you with a special chemical I whipped up last night! So now, you’re all physically incapable of getting sleep!”

“Bad...” Methuselah mutters.

“It’s supposed to be bad,” Satoshi reminds.

“If anyone gets too sleepy, try sending someone to a permanent dirt nap and I’ll let the rest of you catch some winks!” he says. “Oh, and the nighttime and morning announcements will still play and all restrictions I make with them stay in effect!” He giggles into his paws and waddles off.

“There are restrictions to the nighttime?” I ask.

Ravenclaw nods a little. “K-Kitchen is normally closed off. Um...so are some other rooms...I think...”

I nod a little. “Right...”

Everyone either finishes their breakfast or leaves the room. I managed to finish mine before leaving. I decide hanging out with some of the others might take my mind off of this.

I entered the club and found Allison there. She was sipping a coffee she ordered. I walk over and take a seat across from her. “Trying to stay awake, I see.”

She nods a bit. I wasn’t sure how much it helped, but even a little was better than nothing, wasn’t it?

“Did you want one?” Allison asks me. “I can get you one. Black coffee is bitter, but it helps the most.”

I nod a bit. “I think I can choke back a black coffee for a bit.”

She smiles sleepily and orders me a coffee, too. I take it once it arrives and drink some. It was extremely bitter and I start coughing. I’ve never had coffee before and this was a large leap.

Allison snickers a bit into her hand. “You get used to it.”

I nod and sip a bit more. This was a bad idea, but I wasn’t going to let myself look weak in front of s girl that nearly dies on a regular basis. I spend time drinking coffee with Allison. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“What’s it like going through all the stuff you go through?” I ask her, hoping that this would help keep us distracted.

“Oh, sometimes it can be kinda scary,” she says. “I forget that it’s my luck, right? So I always end up thinking I’m going to die. I don’t, luckily, but I get pretty sure of it.”

“And what about other people? Bystanders and stuff. What happens to them?” I ask her.

“Oh, they end up fine,” she says. “No one but me gets affected, remember?”

I nod a bit. I do remember her saying that. “So you don’t consider this whole thing affected by your luck?”

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t. I’m no Rick Dallas or anything.”

“...a what?” I ask.

She waves me off dismissively. “It’s a SHSL Luckster thing. You wouldn’t get it without being in the school.”

Great, now they had inside jokes I couldn’t understand. I get up. “I think I’ll be going now. I want to stay awake, not lose my hearing.”

Allison nods and waves as I left the room.

I went into the game room and saw Hiroshi there, playing something on the arcade machine. He looks over as I enter and waves lazily.

I yawn and walk over. “Hey there...what are you playing?”

“Oh, just some racing game,” he says boredly. “You wanna join? These computers are terrible.”

I shrug and walk over. I glance at Hiroshi. He seemed like his usual self. Bored and uncaring about the things happening around him.

“By the way, I’m really good at this game,” Hiroshi says. “So get ready to have your ass kicked.”

“You’re on!” I demand. I spend time playing video games with Hiroshi. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“So you mentioned your family took over ancountry during the Tragedy, right?” I ask after a few rounds of me losing.

Hiroshi nods. “Yes, I did. We originate from wealth and the opportunity to overtake a small piece of land ravaged by despair was just simple.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I murmur.

“After the Tragedy, my family just got to keep the land and start their own country,” he explains.

I nod a bit. “And it wasn’t a dictatorship until you took over, right?”

“Exactly! Once I came into power, changing things was easy. Distrust by the loss of the royal family and already rather...uneducated, the people adopted rather easily,” he says. He sounded proud while talking about himself and his accomplishments.

“Don’t you miss your family?” I ask.

“Oh, with all my heart. But keeping my country and my people safe is how I honor them,” he tells me.

I don’t remember dictators ever doing much to keep the people safe. In fact, I’m positive the rule to do what’s best for themselves first and foremost. And Hiroshi didn’t seem like the type to think of others.

“Well, I think I’ll be on my merry way,” he says. “I promised Methuselah we would hang out for a while.”

Hiroshi walks out of the room. Methuselah and him must be good friends, although I didn’t really know the extent of their friendship. I soon left, too.

When I entered the hallway, I could hear noises coming from Satoshi’s room. It sounded like he was working on something. I was just going to ignore it when I heard loud cursing and something fall. I decide to knock on his door.

After a moment, Satoshi opens his door and looks at me. He had smoke on his goggles and face and a rather disappointed look. “Is now really the time?” he asks.

“Uh...Sorry. I heard noises and wanted to make sure you were okay,” I say.

Satoshi sighs softly. “Actually, I’m not. Now if you wouldn’t mind going say, I’d like to...” He stops and frowns a bit. I could feel him staring at me. “...on second though, please come in! Haha!” He opens the door for me.

That was a sudden change of pace. I also never really expected to be invited into Satoshi’s room. But I decide to take the opportunity and walk in.

Satoshi’s room was full of posters and action figures and other merchandise for video games. He had a work station on one side of the room full of tools of all shapes and sizes at his disposal. There was a desktop computer on another wall across from his bed. It sat next to a bookshelf full of video games and more merchandise. A large, metal contraption was laying on the ground in front of his work station.

“What’s that thing?” I ask him as I stepped in.

“Haha! That’s my latest invention!” he exclaims proudly. “At least...it’s supposed to be. But I’m having trouble with it and now I’ve gone and dropped it. It’s heavy and I need your help!”

Why is it every time someone wants something from me, it’s to do some kind of chore with them? “Yeah, Alright,’I’ll help.” Maybe it’s because I was such a doormat.

Satoshi grins wide. “Wonderful news! Haha! Come on, and be sure to lift with your legs!” I spend time helping Satoshi get his machine back into place. The two of us grew a little closer today.

We manage to get it back onto the table and face the direction Satoshi wanted. “Ah, Wonderful! Maybe you do have some use, Ark! Haha!”

“What is this thing even supposed to be?” I ask him.

He huffs. “That’s none of you business! You can figure it out when it’s done just like everyone else!”

I nod quickly. “Alright, geez, calm down!”

“That’s better,” he mumbles.

“So do you only make things from video games?” I ask him.

He grins wide. “Nah! My main catalogue of contraptions is mostly video game inspired, but I’ve made some independent projects as well!”

“Oh really? Like what?” I ask him.

“Well, I’m very close to getting a functioning hoverboard! And flying cars are getting close as well for me,” he brags.

“Wash, that is pretty impressive,” I say.

He smirks. “I know! Haha! But now isn’t the time for small talk! I have work to do in private. So shoo!”

I left the room without any protest, deciding to leave Satoshi to his own devices. I return to my room in time for the nighttime announcement.

I lay in bed and sigh. I wasn't going to get any sleep, I knew that. But I might as well converse my energy for tomorrow. So I stayed in bed all night.


	13. Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Daily Life Part III

I got up when the morning announcement played. My body felt weak and sluggish. My eyes didn’t want to stay open but closing them didn’t help at all. I shuffle out of my room.

I head to the cafeteria. I need to get as much energy into my body as possible. Eating some breakfast and a coffee to go with it was he best way to do that.

I shuffle in, seeing most of the others as usual. I get myself some fruit and a coffee and sit down with it.

Several of the others were all set up in a group. Satoshi, Jason, Hiroshi, Eddy, Erika, Victor, and Damond were all talking amongst one another about something.

“What’s going on over there..?” I ask Ravenclaw gently.

Ravenclaw looks over at them. He was resting his head on his hand and had a spoon sticking out of his mouth. He had a few empty cups of pudding around him. I think he had an unhealthy addiction to them.

“I um...I heard them t-talking about a party...” he murmurs softly.

I look at him. “What? Seriously..?” Was now the right time for a party?

He nods a little. “Satoshi is g-going to get a karaoke machine h-hooked up to the speakers in the c-club and connect it all to the r-recording equipment. Erika, Victor, and D-Damond are on Uh...decorations. J-Jason and Eddy are...snacks, I think. And H-Hiroshi is the ringleader.”

“Wait, it was all Hiroshi’s idea?” I ask him.

He nods gently. “Mhmm...”

Hiroshi didn’t seem like the type to want to throw a party. It felt a little off to me, but I was honestly too exhausted to care or question it. If anything, I could just avoid the party and say I wasn’t feeling well.

I finish eating my breakfast and chug down my coffee. The group doing the party planning all left to do their own things. I was surprised any of them felt well enough to work like that.

I got up and left. I might as well hang out with some of the others. I didn’t have anything else to do all day and I think I’d lose my mind if I just stayed in my room.

I nearly bumped into Ishida while heading to the game room. He looks at me and growls softly. Didn’t seem like the happiest camper when he was so tired.

“Watch where you’re going,” he says.

“Sorry, it was an accident. Maybe chill with the attitude,” I reply. Normally, I wouldn’t want to make a SHSL Samurai angry, but I was feeling irritable, too.

Ishida scowls and crack ships knuckles. “You know, Ark, I never got a chance to train with you...”

“...what’s that supposed to mean..?” I ask nervously.

Ishida draws his sword. “Run.”

My eyes widen and I run off screaming. Ishida chases after me. I spend time getting chased around by Ishida. The two of us grew a little closer today.

The two of us ended up tired. I was surprisingly fast when I thought my life was in mortal danger. Maybe that was a good thing in a place like this.

Me and Ishida sat next to each other in the hall, panting and tired.

“That...was uncalled for...” I say breathlessly.

“...yeah, probably,” Ishida mutters. “I’m sorry. I lost my head for a minute...”

I take a deep breath and let it out. “I blame the motive. Not you...”

He smiles a tiny bit. “Thanks...you’re a fast runner, you know.”

“Being threatened with a sword gets the blood pumping,” I joke back.

Ishida laughs softly. “I wasn’t actually going to hurt you with it. I only reserve that for people that need it...”

I look at him. He seemed very serious. “Like who..?”

“People who get in the way of my clients. My master has taught the clan how to behave and handle our job,” he explains.

“So you come from a clan? That’s kind of cool,” I say.

He nods. “We have some very strict rules to follow. Train daily, keep your mind clear and calm, never let your opponent show fear or weakness, protect your clients at all cost, kill anyone who dares to step in our way.”

I nod. “That’s all kinda...wait, what was that last one?” I thought he used his sword as a form of protection. Not to just straight up kill people!

“Don’t worry, please. Anyone who gets in our way is typically someone deserving of it,” he assures.

“...if you say so...” I murmur. I wasn’t sure how I felt with the information that Ishida was a killer. But...it sounded like it was for good reasons. I hope.

I stand up and stretch. “I think I’m going to go relax somewhere more comfortable. I’ll see you later, Ishida.”

The two of us wave as I walk off. All that running left me best, but I power through it.

I saw Erika in the club room. She hums lightly as she draws something on the ground. It looked like some weird symbols.

“Erika, what is all that..?” I ask hesitantly.

She looks up at me and smiles. “It’s for a rituaaaaaal!”

“What kind of ritual?” I ask. “You aren’t trying to summon anything, are you?”

“Whaaaat? No!” she says. “We already have a demoooooon! This is a spell I learned for goooood fortuuuune!”

“Oh...that’s not so bad,” I say.

She grins wide. “Yeaaaaah! Join me! Join meeeeee!”

It couldn’t hurt to participate in something like that, right? Even if it didn’t work, it was for a good cause. I walk over to her. “Alright, just tell me what to do.”

“Just follow me leeeeead!” she says excitedly. Then she yawns. I spend time performing rituals with Erika. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“Yaaaay! We’re aaaaall done!” she says happily. “It’ll work for suuuure!”

Erika really did seem like a bundle of energy and positivity. Even with as exhaustive and energy-sapping this motive was, Erika really seemed no different than usual.

“Do you do rituals like this all the time?” I ask her.

She shakes her head. “Only when necessaryyyy!”

“Oh, that makes sense,” I murmur. “Do you do other rituals? Got any friends to do them with?”

“Tooooons of friends from my occult cluuuuub!” she cheers. “We perform bloood rituals!”

“...wait, what?!” I exclaim.

“Bloooood rituaaaaaal!” she repeats happily. “They’re my faaaaaavorite!”

Why would something like that never favorite?! It sounds disgusting! And dangerous!

“Erika, is that safe to do..?” I ask hesitantly.

She shrugs. “I think sooo!” That didn’t make me feel better.

Erika looks down at the symbols on the floor. “Better clean uuuup! Lottsa work to dooooo!” She gets to work, giving me the opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. I didn’t feel like thinking about blood rituals anymore.

I settle down in the cafeteria with Martha. She had taken off her puppets to drink a tall mug of coffee. She waves to me as I walked in. “Hello.”

I blink. That just came out of her mouth. Not the puppets’. “You're not talking with the puppets?”

She shakes her head. “It’s just the two of us. I don’t need them when it’s such a small group of people.”

“I guess that makes sense.” I do remember her saying large groups freaked her out. “Anymore of that coffee left..?”

She nods and gestures her head to the kitchen. “Plenty.”

I get myself a mug and sit down across from her, taking a long drink from it. “Thanks...”

She shrugs and drinks from her own. I end up not saying much for a while and just relaxing with her company. I spend time resting with Martha. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“So, the puppets..where did they come from?” I finally ask her.

“Hm? Oh...old toys that I found in my attic,” she says. “Nothing special.”

“Are all of the ones you own from your attic, then?” I ask her.

She nods. “Mhmm. I had a bunch. They were my great aunt’s tots when she was a kid, apparently. They just kept getting passed along to family members. I cleaned them up and started using them...a lot.”

I nod a bit. “And the shows. When did that start?”

“Oh, just a few years ago,” she says casually. “I started with videos on the internet. Sometimes I do live shows or go to birthdays if they’re close enough. It’s nice. It’s fun.”

I felt like Martha wasn’t letting on just how strong her connection to these puppets were. She sounded really casual about it, but if they were her way of speaking, hey must mean more than just how it sounds.

She finishes her coffee. “As much as I enjoy the third-degree, I think I’ll go now. See ya...and good luck with sleep.” She leaves.

I sigh and left as well, shuffling off to my room. My body was feeling heavy by now. Moving was getting hard. So was keeping my eyes open. My body slumped forward and my feet dragged like bags of rocks.

I manage to get to my room and I simply collapse on my bed. The bed was so soft and comfortable, but brought me absolutely no comfort. All I could do was lay there and do nothing for the whole night.


	14. Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Killing Life Investigation

The morning announcement played and I opened my eyes. Yet another day with absolutely no sleep. And by now, I couldn’t take much more.

My entire body felt heavy and impossible to move. It was like my insides were made out of concrete. I just didn’t have the energy to get out of bed anymore. Even forming functional thoughts and keep my eyes open were difficult chores.

No one came to bothers me and all I did was lay in bed for god knows how long. I was beginning to worry if he here all day when it happened. The sound of a massive explosion carried out through the building, shaking everything a little.

I hardly had time to react. As soon as it had ended, my eyes closed and I was it like a light. I didn’t come to for hours.

When I finally woke up, I didn’t know what time it was. But I did know I felt a lot better. Good enough to get out of bed. I would almost consider what I had heard to be a dream if it hadn’t been for the fact that I was able to dream at all.

I hurry out of my room, knowing something has gone horribly wrong. A few other people seemed to be waking up as well and following me lead.

The sound of the explosion had been too muffled to come from this floor, so I take the elevator down to the second floor.

I get off there and head out. The music was gone now. I couldn’t hear any from the hall. I head straight to the club room.

As soon as I open the door, smoke pours out around me. I cover my mouth with my elbow and cough, waving the air away as I go into the room.

When the smoke cleared, I could finally see the damage. The stereos were nothing more than scrap metal at this point, smoke and fire coming from them. Decorations and snacks had been set up in the room for the planned party, but they were now either ash or simply destroyed.

In he center of the room laid Eddy’s suit, soot covering it and some parts burnt. I run over. “Eddy? Eddy?!” I rip the head off the suit and scream.

Inside was a completely burnt corpse. Nothing about the face or body was recognizable to me. But I knew it was real and I knew someone was dead.

It wasn’t long before people were entering the room. It took no time at all for the body discovery announcement to play. I look at everyone in shock and terror. But...something was wrong. Hiroshi was missing from the group as well.

“Has...H-Has anyone seen Hiroshi..?” I ask weakly. Nobody had a response. Not even Methuselah.

I look back down at the body. Who...Who was this really? I couldn’t know for sure. But what I did know was that either Eddy Eagle, the SHSL Fursuit Designer, or Hiroshi Sumitoshi, the SHSL Dictator, were dead.

**New Killing Life - Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever**

No one asked questions or so much as uttered a word as they began to look around. I decide to follow their example. They knew more about any of this than I did, after all.

The room was absolutely destroyed. The speakers were nothing more than rumble barely holding itself together. Judging by the shape of what was left of them, I’d say the explosion came from them. I could smell chemicals from nearby. It also looked like someone had stabbed some of the wiring. with a screwdriver, now warped by the explosion.

There was a karaoke machine near them, but the explosion had warped it pretty badly.

Decorations and food were scattered around, most of them burnt to a crisp and falling apart. If any kind of struggle happened here, there’d be no way to know anymore.

In the center of the room was Eddy’s suit with the burnt body in it. Trying to take the body out of the suit was painful since it was so hot, so I gave up on that rather quickly. The body was too deformed to make out any distinct features or clothes. The suit, although a little burnt here and there and very dirty, was in good condition.

There was a metal bucket near the door. It looked like it was out of range of the explosion since it appeared to be unharmed. The inside of the bucket smelled like chemicals.

I look at Satoshi. He seemed upset about the stereos. He had been working on them, hadn’t he? I decide to go ask.

“Everything alright?” I ask him.

He sighs sadly. “Look at these things. I spent a long time working on those stereos and now they’re gone...”

“What did you say you were doing to them?” I ask.

“They were connected to the karaoke machine and the recording equipment,” he explains. “I was going to record everyone singing so we could have it for fun...”

I pat his back gently. “It’s alright, Satoshi.”

“But...I’m worried someone used that to do the explosion,” he murmurs.

“What? Why is that?” I ask him.

He looks at me nervously. “Well, to get the connections set up, I had to do some modifications. And it left the back of the speaker wide open. So what if I get blamed for the murder?!”

“I don’t think it works like that,” I assure him.

He sighs softly but said nothing else. I decide to go look around in other places.

I head to the recording studio. It looked like there was a new recording on the equipment. It must be from the karaoke machine. I decide to press play.

I heard a noise. It sounded like fabric rubbing on fabric. A door opened and something splashed, followed by a loud yell. There’s the sound of a match being lit and then a large fire starting. Then screaming. A lot of screaming. Something crashes over, probably a table. The screaming eventually stops and there’s a loud thump. Someone moves farther away from the karaoke machine. It’s hard to hear much, and after a while, there’s a few seconds of a large boom and then silence.

I frown a bit as the recording finally ends. Did I just listen to the murder happen?

While I was looking around in the science lab, I found that a book of matches had been opened and a couple were missing. A couple bottles marked as highly flammable were also missing.

I decided to take some time to go look around for any signs of either Hiroshi or Eddy. I even checked their rooms. But I didn’t see them anyway. I did find out that I didn’t like the way Eddy’s extra suits stared at me.

I decide to go interrogate some of the people that had been planning the party. Both Satoshi and Victor said they had been in their rooms. Erika and Damond had something to share, though.

“Eddy was being soooooo weird!” Erika says. “And resssslly mean!”

“He told us to get out because we were doing everything wrong,” Damond says. “Claimed we couldn’t decorate correctly.”

“So he just kicked you both out?” I ask.

The two of them nod. “It was super weeeeeird!” Erika says.

“We didn’t feel like arguing though, so he left,” Damond says.

I nod. “Right. Thanks for the help.”

While I talked with Jason, he had his own story.

“ _Hiroshi was helping me for a hit but he seemed uneasy_ ,” he writes. “ _After a while, he left in a rush and I didn’t see him again._ ”

____That was pretty weird of Hiroshi. He never seemed like the nervous type._ _ _ _

____The trial announcement plays and all of us head to the elevator. We all step in, quiet and sullen. None of us wanted to do this._ _ _ _

____The elevator flies downward once again, throwing us around and making everyone scream. It came to a sudden halt, throwing everyone to the ground._ _ _ _

____“Ugh...what’s happening? Ah, where are Chrysta, Hiroshi, and Eddy..?” Victor asks._ _ _ _

____I sigh deeply. “We’ll explain in a minute.”_ _ _ _

____The elevator doors open as we all got back to our feet. We walk out hesitantly. Even after getting sleep, I knew there would be no rest for us until the trial was over. We had to do this and do it right. It was time for the second class trial to begin!_ _ _ _


	15. Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Killing Life Trial Part I

Everyone gets to their podiums quietly. Victor seemed to understand things a bit better and didn’t ask more questions after seeing the new portraits. Chrysta, Eddy, and Hiroshi all had one now. Chrysta’s was crossed it with an X. Eddy and Hiroshi had a question mark over their faces.

“What’s with the weird pictures?” Allison asks.

“Well, I’d be cheating if I gave you any clues as to who may or may not be dead!” Monokuma says. “But leaving their podiums empty just seems like such a waste. I figured this was a good compromise!”

“Well, I definitely don’t think they’re both dead,” Satoshi says. “After all, why let the trial start if we didn’t even see both bodies? Haha!”

“But I don’t think it’s a requirement to discovery both bodies,” Ishida points out.

“I do not remember reading it in the rules,” the cloaked person agrees. “But that does not prove that statement false. Perhaps Monokuma simply does it like that.”

“Why don’t we ask?” I suggest. “Hey, Monokuma, do we have to find all dead bodies before a trial begins?”

“Hm...yes!” Monokuma says. “It wouldn’t be fair to anyone if I couldn’t squeeze every last ounce of despair from you, after all.”

“So that means only one of them is dead,” Damond says.

“But where could the other be?” Yavin asks. “We only found the body.”

“Maybe their soul was devourrrrred!” Erika says. “Taken by a demon of maaaaaass power!”

“My demon did not eat anyone!” Damond demands.

“What if they were just really good at hiding? Haha!” Satoshi says.

“Wait, of course!” I say. “That makes sense! The other person must have hidden themselves somewhere.”

“But didn’t we check everywhere?” Allison says.

“That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have been hiding,” Yavin says. “Sometimes people can hide in plain sight and won’t be seen.”

“Does that mean one of them is the killer?” Victor asks.

“Not necessarily,” I say. “The other people could have been knocked out and stashed away. Or kidnapped. We don’t know yet.”

“Then maybe we should begin speaking about our actual evidence,” the cloaked person says.

“I want to know what that weird shaking was,” Draco says. “It was scary!”

“I think it was an explosion,” Ishida explains. “Those stereos were definitely the cause of it.”

Satoshi looked uncomfortable but said nothing.

“Satoshi...” Methuselah says.

He looks up. “H-Huh? What? What do you want?”

“Is there something on your mind?” Ishida asks him.

“Uh...no! There’s nothing! Haha! Leave me alone!” he says quickly.

Satoshi was definitely acting weird. What was with him? Did I already know?

“Satoshi, if you have something you need to say, just fucking say it!” Bea says.

“Don’t be so harsh with him!” Allison demands. “Give him a moment!”

“I told you, there’s nothing! Haha! Please leave me alone now!” Satoshi says.

“If he knows something, he needs to say it,” Victor demands.

“I don’t know anything. What are you even talking about?” he replies.

“wait, Satoshi! That’s wrong” I demand. “You know about the stereos. You told me yourself.”

Satoshi pales. “U-Um...”

“ _What does he know?_ ” Jason writes.

“He knows the modifications for it caused it to become highly explosive,” I say. “That’s why you’re so worried you will count as the killer, isn’t it?”

“Damnit...I shouldn’t have told you that...” he murmurs.

“Wait, whyyyyyyyy does he think he’ll count for killer?” Erika gasps and puts her hands on her cheeks. “IIIIIIIs he the killer?!”

“I don’t think so yet,” I say. “He’s just afraid his modifications being used as a bomb will make it count.”

“I-I think you’re safe,” Ravenclaw assures hesitantly.

“Unless you set off the bomb, there’s no way it counts for you,” Ishida adds.

Satoshi nods a bit, although he still looked uneasy.

“Someone did set it off, though,” I say. “The wiring had been ruined and someone splashed chemicals onto it. I could smell them.”

“So the killer started an electrical fire,” Yavin says. “And that must have trashed the room.”

“So that musta killed the victim!” Draco says.

“No, I don’t think that’s right,” I say.

“But that’s what makes the most sense!” he says. “I know it!”

“It does seem to make sense,” I say. “There’s stuff that doesn’t add up.”

“Then I’ll help it add up!” he says. “Just leave it to me!”

It sounded more like Martha didn’t want to take this without a fight. I guess I’d rather deal with Draco over Bea, at least. But I knew I had to be right. I’d just have to prove it to her!

“We all heard the explosion.”

“And the room was a mess!”

“And the body was totally unrecognizable.”

“You’re right, we did hear it,” I say. “I’m not denying it happened. But there’s no way If was the murder weapons.”

“How can you say that?!”

“We all saw the room, right?”

“And we all heard the explosion, meaning that was the weapon!”

No, I knew that was wrong. And I knew I could prove it! “I’ll cut your words down!” I yell out.

“W-Waaaah! Don’t yell at meeee!” Draco wails.

“The karaoke machine,” I say. “It has been hooked up to the speakers and the recording equipment. Right, Satoshi?”

Satoshi nods. “Yeah, I had gotten it all set up that day.”

“I thought so. I heard the murder take place on the recording equipment,” I say. “And from what I heard, the explosion happened after the death of the victim.”

“Wait, what did you hear?” Allison asks.

“I heard someone standing near the karaoke machine. I think they were hiding behind the stereo. Then the door opened and there was a splash, like liquid. Then...I heard a match get lit. And then there was he sound of a fire starting and a lot of screaming. But the screaming eventually ended...and I heard the explosion after that,” I explain.

“That sounds awful...” Victor says softly.

“Then what was the point of the explosion?” Damond asks. “Why do that if the victim was already dead?”

That was a good question. Why do any of that in the first place? I had to think about this.

_Did the explosion kill the victim?_

No, it didn’t.

_What did kill the victim?_

Something splashed onto them.

_Was the explosion related to the murder?_

It had to be.

_Then why would the killer set it up?_

They would have to do it...to destroy something...

My eyes light up. “I have the answer!” I shout. “The explosion wasn’t started to kill the victim. It was done as a way to hide evidence!”

“Ah, of c-course,” Ravenclaw says. “We...We uh, all heard it. Which means we’d um...we’d think it was the murder weapon. B-But it something else was used...and then destroyed, we’d never know...”

“So then something else had to have killed the victim,” Ishida says. “But what?”

“Maybe that bucket diiiiiid it!” Erika says.

“The bucket?” I ask her. “You saw it?”

She nods. “It was part of my amaaaaaazing decorations! We were gonna do apple bobbiiiiing!”

“Erika, I don’t think the bucket is the weapon,” Victor says.

“No, I think it is,” I cut in. “The bucket smelled like chemicals. I think it was filled and put on top of the door. And when the victim walked in, they’d get soaked. And then the killer would light a match and...end it.”

“But who was the victim?” the cloaked person asks. “We spent all this time talking and yet we’ve never spoken of that.”

They were right. We haven’t come close to deciding who was even dead. This trial was far from over. But I knew we had to end it soon.


	16. Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Killing Life Trial Part II

“We know the victim has to be Hiroshi or Eddy,” Ishida says. “They’re the only options.”

“So the killer has to be one of them, too, right?” Yavin asks.

“Ah...no necessarily,” the cloaked person says. “One of them could have been knocked out and hidden away rather than murdered.”

“Why would the killer waste time doing something like that?” Bea asks. “Seems like a massive waste of time!”

“Maybe one of them was targeted for a specific reason,” Satoshi suggests.

“Panic...” Methuselah murmurs.

“He’s right,” Allison says. “The killer could have panicked and done it on a whim. Or maybe they were attacked.”

“I think we can figure this out if we try to decide what the other party planners were up to,” I say.

“Oh, that makes sense!” Victor says. “Um...so what party was going on?”

“Aw! You forgooooot?!” Erika demands. “But we spent sooooo long decoratiiiing!”

Victor chuckles awkwardly and rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess I did...so I was decorating with you, Erika? I’m shocked.”

She smiles wide and nods. “Mhmmmm! Damond was sleeeeeeping!”

“The entire point of the motive was that we couldn’t sleep,” Damond says. “I was just resting.”

“ _I was cooking with Hiroshi for a while_ ,” Jason writes down.

“Wait, you were with Hiroshi?!” Yavin says. “Why didn’t you say so?!”

Jason looks down a bit. “ _I didn’t think it was a big deal..._ ”

“Jason, sweetie, where did he go?” Allison asks. “Did he say?”

Jason shakes his head a little bit. Allison sighs softly.

“ _I do remember he seemed really uneasy about something_ ,” he writes.

“We saw Eddyyyyyy!” Erika says happily.

Satoshi sighs. “Of course you did...weren’t you and Victor decorating? What did he want?”

“Hmmm! I dunnoooo!” she says. “But he was very rude and kicked us oooout!” She puffs of her cheeks, looking annoyed.

“I think it’s pretty clear who the victim is then,” Ishida says.

Everyone nods in agreement.

Hiroshi!”

“Eddy!”

There was silence after the accusations went out.

“D...Do you r-really think that body was Eddy..?” Ravenclaw asks.

“Well of course it’s Eddy!” Damond demands. “Even The demon is saying so!”

“Your stupid demon doesn’t prove anything!” Bea snaps. “Cut the crap already!”

“Eddy...” Methuselah mutters.

“That’s not even an argument!” Satoshi says.

“It would seem we’ve been split down the middle again,” the cloaked person asks.

“Did you say split down the middle?!” Monokuma asks excitedly.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Why did you have to say that..?”

“Are we going to have to do that dumb arguing thing all over again?” Yavin asks.

“Absolutely!” Monokuma cheers. “So let’s break out the all new Terramorphing Trial Grounds! It’s morphing time!” He presses the button on his throne.

The engines on the podiums roar to life and the podiums lock us in. The wheels pop up and we all go flying around the room until two groups were facing each other.

“We’ll be debating on if the victim of this trial is Eddy or Hiroshi! The group saying Eddy died is: Methuselah, Damond, Jason, Yavin, the sacrifice, and Ishida! On the side saying Hiroshi died is: Allison, Martha, Satoshi, Ark, Ravenclaw, Erika, and Victor! Let the debates begin!”

Yavin slides forward first. “Hiroshi has to have been nervous because he was expecting Eddy to be in the club.”

Satoshi slides up against him. “No way you can prove that! Haha! Don’t say such stupid things!”

Damond rolled up next. “Did you forget Hiroshi is already a killer?”

Victor clashes with Damond. “You don’t have to have a past of killing to be the killer!”

Jason rides up. “ _Hiroshi was in charge of the party, so I think_ he planned a meet-up with Eddy.”

Erika clashes with him. “Totally wrooooong! Eddy kicked me and Vic out, nooooot Hiroshi!”

Methuselah rides up next. “Hiding...”

I crash with him. “Either one could be Hiding! Hiroshi’s room is huge and Eddy has extra fursuits in his!”

Yavin rolls up next. “Hiroshi has a better motive than Eddy to kill!”

Martha crashes with him. “Everyone has a motive!” Bea demands. “Just because someone had a worse one doesn’t mean they wouldn’t kill, idiot!”

The cloaked person rides up. “Surely the recording has their voices.”

Ravenclaw goes against him. “The Uh...The r-recording wasn’t detailed enough! Um...Ark would have mention if he could t-tell!”

We all push against each other, engines roaring to life as he two groups attempt to fight the other back. But after a moment, the other group gives in and we force them back.

“This is the answer we discovered together!” The seven of us yell.

All of the stands go back to their original positions. “It makes the most sense for Eddy to be the killer,” I say. “That’s how all of this seems to have played out.”

“So he hid in those suits he wears?” the cloaked person asks.

I nod. “Yeah, I think that’s what he did. I didn’t think bout checking them.”

“...no,” Methuselah says.

We look at him. “What?” I ask

“No!” he repeats angrily.

“But that’s what makes the most sense,” I say. “Eddy is the murderer and Hiroshi is the vict—“

“Hiroshi...not...dead!” Methuselah yells angrily.

I frown a little. Why was he begin difficult? Maybe he just didn’t want to admit Hiroshi had been murdered. But we didn’t have time for that! We had to end this!

“Methuselah, the only answer is that Hiroshi we killed by Eddy! That’s what makes the most sense!” I say.

Methuselah grits his teeth, scolding angrily. “N-No...not...dead!”

He was going to stand in my way until I could get through to him. I’d have to show him the truth!

“On the recording—“

“ _Not...dead!_ ”

“—I could hear—“

“ _No!_ ”

“—the sounds of—“

“ _Quiet!_ ”

“—Eddy’s suit!” I yell through his words.

“Doesn’t...matter!” Methuselah yells. “Eddy’s...suit...Eddy’s...body!”

Ah, there it was! The fatal flaw to his argument! “That’s where you’re wrong!” I yell out.

Methuselah shuts up when I say that, listening to me now.

“Eddy’s suit was barely touched by the explosion. The only reason that would be is if he ran out off he room before the explosion happened and then put Hiroshi’s body inside his suit!” I say.

Methuselah slowly looks down. “Hiroshi...dead...”

“So that means Eddy’s the killer, right?” Allison asks. “Without a doubt?”

I nod. “Yeah, it does. Let me go over the entire case to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

“This entire thing starts with Hiroshi’s party. Whatever he point of it was doesn’t matter anymore. The killer saw it as a way to murder. Hiroshi recruited Erika, Victor, Damond, Satoshi, Jason, and the killer to all help him set up this party. Satoshi got to work on making it possible to sing karaoke and have it recorded on the recording equipment so we could play any of it back on the stereos. He had to connect all three for this to work. The next day, Erika and Victor were busy setting up decorations alone in the club with Damond stuck in bed. The killer quickly kicked them out of the room to set up their pkan. They used the bucket planned for Apple bobbing as a trap. Filling it with chemicals, they put it on top of the door andbhis behind the stereo to wait. They didn’t know the karaoke machine was recording all of this. Hiroshi, meanwhile, has been cooking with Jason but he left in a rush. He went to the club and opens the door. The chemicals splashed onto him and the killer threw a match at him. He was in flames in seconds. He knocked over the door table in his struggles and eventually succumbed to the flames. The killer knew he had to mess with the crime scene. So they attacked the wiring of the stereo with a screwdriver Satoshi left behind and threw chemicals on it. After leaving the room, the electrical fire he stared made the stereo into a bomb that ruined the room. Most of us passed out by then. The killer didn’t. They weren’t ready. They put Hiroshi’s body into their suit after they could enter the club again. Then they hid inside an extra suit in their room and waited,” I explain. “And all of that could only be accomplished by Eddy!”

Everyone seeemd to be agreement.

“Then...Then we n-need to vote...” Ravenclaw murmurs.

“I hear you’re ready to vote!” Monokuma says excitedly. “Let’s get to it! Who’s the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?”

We all put our votes in for Eddy.

“I’m so excited! Lets see the results!” the bear cheers. We see picture of everyone’s faces appear on the screens on our podiums. 13 votes were tallied up against Eddy.

Confetti falls from the ceiling. “That’s right! Eddy Eagle, the SHSL Fursuit Designer, is the killer!”


	17. Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Killing Life Trial Part III

That was it then. Eddy had been the killer this whole time. He faked his own death in an attempt to win. What was wrong with this place..?

“Let’s get the lucky loser out here to face the music!” Monokuma says.

The elevator pings and Eddy stumbles out. At least, I assumed it was Eddy. The man we saw was suitless. He was round and doughy. He wore a pair of light blue shorts and a tank top and a pair of socks. His hair was a messy white mop that seemed matted onto his head. He didn’t look like a happy person. Monokuma quickly shoved him into his podium and it locks him in.

“What’s going on..?” His voice was high pitched and childish. A total take back from his more intimidating physique.

“Is...that you, Eddy?” I ask.

He scowls. “Yeah? So fuckin’ what if it is?!”

“Yeah, that’s Eddy,” Yavin says.

“No one answered my question! What’s goin’ on here?!” he demands.

“The brats figured out you were the big bad killer and voted you up!” Monokuma says.

“What?!” Eddy yells angrily. “These morons actually got it right?!”

“I still don’t understand why Eddy was allowed to skip out on the trial,” Ishida says. “I thought attendance was mandatory.”

“I just thought I’d be more entertaining this way!” Monokuma says cheerily.

“How is this more entertaining?” I ask. “You already know the answer.”

“I like watching you little rugrats scream at each other over the answer,” he says. “That’s real entertainment!”

Eddy looks down dejectedly. “I can’t believe this shit...”

“Why..?” Methuselah asks. “Why...Hiroshi..?”

Eddy sighs softly and brushes down hair off his forehead. “It wasn’t supposed t’ be him. In fact, it was goin’ t’ be Ark.”

“What?! Me?!” I demand.

“Are ya deaf?!” Eddy demands. “Yeah, you! Bear’s idea, not mine.”

“Monokuma wanted me dead?!” I look at the bear. “Why the hell do you want me dead? What did I do?!”

Monokuma giggles into his paws. “Wouldn’t it be far more entertaining if you got to find out later? Y’know, if you survive.”

“How am I supposed to survive if you’re going to try to rig my death?!” I demand. I felt extremely panicked. Why did Monokuma want me dead bad enough to try to single me out? What did I do to sudden be enough of a threat?

“Anyway,” Eddy says. “I never saw ya and I already had a whole plan set up. So I went after some asshole instead. Picked Hiroshi. Told ‘im I had some info on his country and I’d tell everyone if we didn’t come have a chat. Idiot bought it.”

Methuselah didn’t look happy with that answer.

“Why did ya do it?” Draco asks.

“For the same reason anyone would! I wanted out!” Eddy demands angrily. “And...god, just look at me! Hear my voice, even? I’m so fuckin’ weak. An easy target. I had to take someone out before they went for me...”

“So that’s why you wore that outfit?” the cloaked person asks.

Eddy sighs softly and crosses his arms. “Yeah...”

“Geez, how boring!” Monokuma says. “At least the last killer had something real to hide! All you’ve got is your anxieties! Booooring!”

Eddy scowls angrily. “Why don’t ya say that up close and personal, asshole?!”

“You know, it’s really love to. But we have an execution to get to!” Monokuma lifts up his mallet. “So let’s give it everything we’ve got! It’s PUNISHMENT TIIIIIIME!” He slams the mallet down on the button.

All of our podiums lock us in. Everyone’s screens turn green with the happy Monokuma. But Eddy’s flashes red with an angry Monokuma.

All of our podiums’ wheels pop it and we all fly around the room until we faced the center with Eddy facing the door. The doors open and the engine to Eddy’s podium roars to life. A high-pitched wail comes from him as he goes flying through the door and out of sight.

**Eddy Eagle has been found guilty**

**Commencing the execution...**

Eddy was out in the middle of a field, sitting in a large catapult. He had his eagle mask back on, not letting his face show anything but anger. His arms were tied to his sides and there was a bulky jet pack strapped into his back.

On the ground, Monokuma walks up to the catapult. He launcher was being held down by a taut rope. Monokuma holds up a large machete. He brings it down hard on the rope.

**Soar Like an Eagle!**

The launcher released as soon as the rope was cut. Eddy is sent flying into the air by the force, going high above the ground. He screamed loudly as he flew upward.

Just as Eddy’s ascent seemed to be slowing, there’s a loud beep from his jet pack. It hums loudly and the engines roar to life. And Eddy continues his travel upward at max speed!

Eddy goes higher and higher, going past the clouds and up all the way to the stars. There’s some rapid beeping from his jet pack and the engine dies. Eddy goes from flying to falling.

He continues to scream as he goes for a nosedive straight to the ground. Another beep from his jet pack rings out and the engines roar back to life. There must have been back-up fuel. But Eddy was no longer pointed up.

Eddy rockets at amazing speeds straight down. The only thing louder than the jetpack’s roars were his screams of fear. But both sounds are cut off with a massive boom as he collides with the ground, sending dirt and rock flying everywhere.

There was now a massive crater in the ground. Monokuma slowly peeks inside. All that was inside was a dented up jet pack, an eagle mask half buried in the ground, and a massive bloody smear showing all that was left of Eddy Eagle

I look down at my feet, shaking. There was a heavy pit in my stomach. I wanted to vomit but there was nothing to throw up.

“Nothing like a high-speed execution to really get the blood pumping!” Monokuma cheers.

“Can we go now..?” Allison asks softly.

Monokuma waves her off dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

We all head back into the elevator, pressing the button and having it take us back to the top floor.

The doors open and everyone leaves. Not much was said. I glance at Methuselah, but he disappeared into his room before I could say or do anything. I could tell Ishida seemed worried about him.

I enter my room and collapse onto my bed. I felt as exhausted as I did during the motive.

I couldn’t get the thought of what Eddy said out of my head. I was meant to die? Why..? Why me? Why was I here? Why was I needed dead? Why was I still alive?

I wasn’t sure if I was scared about never getting those answers or getting them all.

I stare at the ceiling, blinking a few times until my eyes stopped opening and I fell asleep.

**Chapter 2: Sleep Never or Sleep Forever - Completed!**

Ark, Ravenclaw, ~~Chrysta~~ , Jason, Allison, Erika, Martha, ~~Eddy~~ , Satoshi, Ishida, ~~Hiroshi~~ , Methuselah, Yavin, ~~Sukai~~ , ???, Damond, Victor


	18. Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Daily Life Part I

**New Daily Life - Chapter 3: Fear Nothing But Fear Itself**

I wake up in the morning slowly not long after the morning annulment played. I felt well rested finally. I didn’t want to go right back to sleep, at the very least.

I sit up slowly and get out of bed, yawning. I get myself ready for the day and then leave my room. I felt like I was operating on autopilot.

I was making my way to the cafeteria when I stopped in front of the elevator. I stare at it quietly. Didn’t Ravenclaw say something about new rooms being added with the end of each trial? Something like that, at least.

I get into the elevator. Sure enough, a new button was lit up. I press it and let the elevator take me down to the new floor.

The doors slide open after the elevator stops and I step out. This floor smelled amazing. It smelled like I walked into the middle of an active kitchen. There was a comforting warmth to the hall and everything felt peaceful.

I walk down to the left and enter the first room I saw. It seemed like a bakery. There was a counter on the left side of the room that showcased a bunch of cakes and cookies and cupcakes. There was a large cabinet with bread and muffins behind the counter in plastic wrap to keep them fresh. There was a coffee machine as well and lots of different flavors of coffee to choose from inside cabinet doors. There were a few small tables with chairs in the room as well. The entire room smelled warm and pleasant. It made me feel at home.

Martha and Damond of all people were in the room at the moment. Damond had his box sitting on the table and the two were talking. They seemed to have stopped by to get some cookies, seeing as how that’s what they were eating.

“Oh, hello, Ark!” Martha says. She had her puppets sitting on the table so she could eat her food.

Damond nods to me. “Hello...” He breaks off a piece of his cookie and puts it inside the box. Was he feeding the demon?

“Hey, guys. Nice room, huh?” I ask.

They both nod in agreement. The box moves a little and Martha looks at it. The lid pushes itself open a bit. Martha peeks inside carefully. She shrieks and falls back off her chair.

The lid closes itself and Damond looks down at her, confused. “What’s your problem?”

Martha looks at me then back to him. “I Uh...I slipped.”

Damond mumbles softly and gets up, grabbing his box. “Be more careful, then.” He walks out.

I go help Martha back to her feet. “Did you see something?” I ask her.

She hesitantly grabs her puppets. “I...I saw two yellow eyes staring at me...” She left in her a hurry after that. There was actually something in that box..?

I left that room, thinking about what Martha said. I went further down the hall and into the next room I found. It was a candy shop!

There was a counter with an old fashioned cash register on it. Next to that was a box that dispensed plastic bags. Three different boxes for three different sizes. Every single wall was covered in shelves filled to the brim with every kind of candy imaginable. There were also large barrels filled with candy sitting in clusters around the room. This room made me feel like a kid again with how excited I got!

The nameless person was here, filling one of the largest bag with as much candy as they could fill it with. They had three different bags filled up already. They look at me as I entered and waved excitedly.

I smile a bit and wave back. “I’m gonna guess you enjoy candy.”

They grin wide and nod. “Oh, yes! Very much so! It’s one of the greatest pleasures in the world!”

“That’s great to know....uh...” I frown a tiny bit. “Are you sure you don’t have a name? Nothing no one calls you? It’s a little hard to refer to you without one.”

“You can make due,” they say, scooping up some gummy bears. “If you wish to give me some form of a name, I won’t stop you. Just don’t expect me to use it myself or accept it as a name.”

“So I can call you anything and you won’t care?” I ask them.

They nod. “That’s right.”

I think for a moment. I could name them a normal name, but would that catch on? Maybe something that works better with them. There wasn’t a lot I knew about them. But...

“...what if I call you Sacri?” I ask.

They shrug. “If you want, I suppose.”

I nod and smile. “Alright then! You’re new nickname is Sacri!”

The pull out a bag of candy from their cloak and hand it to me. “Then here’s your prize.”

I smile a bit and take it. I left, eating from it.

The last room was on the right side of the hall by the time I reached it. It was a very fancy restaurant.

The room was full of tables with white tablecloths. Each table had candles and dishes set out. There were too many forks and spoons with every plate. Menus sat with each set of dish ware. The room itself had a velvet carpet and beautifully decorated walls. There was a door to the kitchen but I couldn’t open it. I’d probably have to order some food to get what I wanted. I felt like I didn’t have the money to even stand in a room like this.

Not everyone seems to care as much, though. Erika and Victor were sitting at a table. They were sharing a massive plate of spaghetti and making a mess. Methuselah was also here, eating a large steak.

Methuselah looks at up at and nods. “Good morning, Ark,” he says.

“Hey there, Methuselah,” I reply. I pause for a second. “...did you just speak in a full sentence?”

He nods. “Yeah, I did. I’ve always been able to.”

“What..? But...then why didn’t you..?” I ask him.

Methuselah sighs softly. “Because...I just wanted people to think of me as the dumb one. Just some...idiot. Something Hiroshi could order around and no one would care because it just wouldn’t matter. But...now that Hiroshi’s dead...”

“I never thought you were an idiot,” I say.

Methuselah looks at me. “What?”

I smile a bit. “Yeah, you never seemed dumb to me. I mean, you know all that stuff about killing people. It’s...a bit freaky, but you’ve gotta be pretty smart to know how to do it, right?”

I could see a dark blush cover Methuselah’s face from under his hood. He hurried out of the room. I guess he didn’t like being complimented.

I look back at Victor and Erika. The two of them had made a large mess, mostly Erika. She was wiping her face off on the white tablecloth. She stops when an announcement plays.

“Can all students please report to the cafeteria? It’s motive time!” Monokuma announces.

I frown and sigh deeply, leaving. This bear wouldn’t even give us one day of peace!

Everyone arrives to the cafeteria to see Monokuma there. He had a chair with him. It had metal clamps on it to hold down someone’s hands and legs. I already didn’t like this.

Monokuma pats the seat of the chair. “Ravenclaw! Why don’t you come relax for a second, eh? I think it’s time we had a nice looooong therapy session. We need to face your fears.”

Ravenclaw noticeably stiffens up. He does as he was told, though. He walks up to the chair and sits down in to. The clamps shut around his ankles and wrists.

Monokuma walks into the kitchen and returns with the trash can. As far as I was aware, it hasn’t been emptied once.

He sets it down in front of Ravenclaw. I could see him begin to shake. Monokuma reaches up and rips off his mask.

Ravenclaw’s face was incredibly pale. His skin looks paper thin and his eyes seemed sunken in. His features were bony and pointy. His hair was feathery and black and stuck out in a few direction.

Monokuma lifts up the trash can. Ravenclaw stats to tug in his arms. “N-No! No! D-Don’t! St-St-Stop!”

Monokuma raises it up above his head and slams it down over Ravenclaw. The garbage spills around him. It smelled putrid; worse than it should.

Monokuma pulls off the trash can and sets it down again. Ravenclaw was totally still, his eyes wide. His was covered in garbage. Old food and thrown away wrappers. A piece of chewed gum was in his hair. A rotten banana peel slips off his head and into his lap. Some half eaten vegetables were splattered over his chest. Something green was dripping down his face. His smelled terrible.

The clamps on Ravenclaw release him. I could see him start to shake violently. As soon as the restraints were gone, he was quick to start wiping at his face hurriedly. “G-G-Get it off! G-Get is off if m-me! Get it off! G-GET IT OOOOOFF!”

Ravenclaw runs out of the room, screaming and clawing at himself to get the garbage off of him.

“Ark!” Monokuma says, patting the chair. “You’re next.”

I gulp nervously and shuffle my way over to the chair. I st down in it and it locks me in. Everyone was totally silent as they watched me.

Monokuma holds something up in front of me after a moment. It was a massive, slimy grub. It wiggles in his hand. My eyes widen and I start screaming, struggling in my restraints. Monokuma drops it down my shirt.

I start wiggling around in my seat, yelling and trying to pull it of the metal restraints. I could feel them dg into my every time I tugged but I didn’t care! The grub wiggles around against me. I could feel it!

Monokuma drops something else down my shirt, this time from the back. I felt it move around. Then he drops something in my hair. Then a massive pile of bugs is poured onto me.

I screamed loudly. I could feel them all moving against me. Small legs and twitching antenna tickled my skin and made it crawl. Wiggling bodies and the feeling of slime made me want to sick. And I think something was starting to bite me!

The restaurants finally opened up and I fell onto the floor, tugging off my shirt in an instant. I started smacking the bugs away and wiggling on the floor as I tried to get them all off of me or dead.

Allison and Jason got me to my feet after a while. The bugs were off of me but I could still feel them wiggling and crawling all over me.

The two took me to my room, where I spent a while just taking a cold shower until the feeling went away.

I finally left my room, wearing a new shirt. I felt like there were still bugs in me, but a simple scratch in that spot made the feeling go away. What wouldn’t go away was the feeling that one would drop on me at any moment. I decide spending time with the others is as good of a distraction as any.

I found Martha in the recording room. She seemed to be making some recordings of her acts. She had Bea and Draco with her but I saw a few other sitting out nearby for her to use.

She looks at me through the glass as I entered and waved to me. I smile a tiny bit and wave back to her. She finishes up what she was doing and leaves the recording room.

“Hey there,” she says. “You feeling alright?”

I nod a bit. “Mhmm.” I scratch my neck after feeling like there was something there.

She smiles s tiny bit. “That’s good to hear. I was just working on some recordings to practice my skits. Did you want to help?”

“Yes!” I say quickly. That was a bit embarrassing.

She smiles a bit and hands me a puppet. It was a cute rabbit with red eyes. “Why do I have this?” I ask her.

“It helps get you into character,” she says. “Come on.” She heads back into the recording room and I follow her.

I spend time recording skits with Martha. The two of us grew a little closer today.

The two of us finished up the last of the prepared skits and she collects all her puppets.

“That was really fun, Martha!” I say happily. I did enjoy the experience recording that a lot.

She smiles politely. “I’m glad you enjoyed it so much. I really do appreciate the help with the practice. Usually I do it at home with my friends but...well, obviously I couldn’t do that here.”

“Yeah, I can understand that,” I say. “I’m happy I got the chance to do that, though! I’ve always wanted to be a voice actor.”

“I think that’s fit you pretty well,” Martha comments. “You’re really good at doing a bunch of voice. Almost as good as me!”

The two of us laugh a bit at that. Martha puts the rabbit puppet in my hand.

“Huh? What’s this for?” I ask her.

“People that help me out get one puppet to keep so I know I can count on them to help later,” she says. “Consider him your character. You can do whatever you want with it.”

I smile a tiny bit and look down at the rabbit. “That...means a lot to me, Martha. Thanks.”

Martha smiles politely and nods, adjusting her glasses. “No problem. I’ll see you later!” She heads out with the rest of her puppets. I left after a bit, too.

I ran into Methuselah and Ishida training in the hallway on the first floor. They were giving it their all again and I nearly mistook it for them trying to kill each other again.

I watch the two of them fight for a bit. Ishida was very speedy and agile with calculated moves. Methuselah was slow but hit hard and swung in for heavy-hitting blows. Both had amazing skills in their own right but it made them evenly matched in the end.

Methuselah was about to swing his axe down on Ishida when he saw me and stops. “Oh, hello, Ark.”

I wave a little and Ishida looks at me, too. “Greetings, Ark. Did you come by to train with us again?”

I quickly shake my head. “Hell no! I’m not doing that again!”

The two of them laugh in response. Ishida pats my back. “Well, I think I’m going to go take a break. You keep Methuselah company.” He walks off. I look at Methuselah.

Methuselah grins wide and readies his axe. I scream and run away with him chasing me down. I spend time running away from Methuselah. The two of us grew a bit closer today.

I had managed to keep far enough away from Methuselah to tire him out before he got to do anything to me. But I was terribly exhausted, too.

I collapse against the wall in the hallway, panting heavily. Methuselah sits next to me, setting his axe against the wall.

“You’re...an...asshole...” I pant in exhaustion.

Methuselah chuckles softly and hands me a bottle of water, which I begin chugging thirstily. “You’re awfully speedy,” he says.

I mumble something while I drank my water and eventually set the half-empty bottle down. “Thanks...”

I look at Methuselah. He seemed a little bummed out still.

“You still miss Hiroshi?” I ask him.

Methuselah sighs and nods. “Yeah...we grew up together. I was given to the royal family by my parents.”

“You were..?” I ask him. “Wait, why?”

“They were deep in debt,” he says. “And Hiroshi’s parents said if they couldn’t pay it off, they'd either have to face execution...or give up their first born son. So they made the obvious choice.”

“Did Hiroshi’s family name you then?” I ask him.

He nods. “Yeah. Methuselah. Bringer of death. I was always meant to have the job I do. Being Hiroshi’s childhood friend was just coincidence.”

Imagining Hiroshi and Methuselah as a children was difficult. Imagining them as happy kids who played with one another was even more so.

Methuselah stands up. “I’ll be on my way. Thanks for the training.” He walks off. I grumble softly under my breath as I left as well.

I went into the cafeteria and found Jason and Allison there. He was making a large dinner for Allison, who was patiently waiting for him to finish.

I wave to Allison as I walk into the kitchen. Jason was busy with his cooking, humming an offkey tune as he did.

“Hey, Jason,” I say. He jumps in surprise and looks back at me. He waves a bit and returns to cooking.

I walk over and looks at what he was doing. He seemed to be hand-mashing potatoes. “Do you want some help there?” I ask him.

Jason quickly shakes his head and continues to work.

I look around the kitchen. He had some macaroni noodles boiling, but he was so focused on the potatoes that he was neglecting it and it was starting to boil over. I walk over to it and help.

Jason looks at me nervously as I start helping him with the cooking despite what he said. But he doesn’t move to stop me and eventually adapts to it.

I spend time helping Jason cook a meal. The two of us grew a little closer today.

We walked out to the cafeteria with the spread of food, presenting it to Allison. She seemed very happy with it. But I think she was happier Jason and I worked together on it.

Jason serves both of us a healthy helping of the food once we sat down. But like the last time he made food, he didn’t touch any himself.

“Jason, sit down and eat,” I tell him.

He hesitates then shakes his head. “ _I’m not very hungry._ ”

I frown a tiny bit. “You worked hard on this, Jason. Just relax and enjoy it with us.”

Jason shakes his head again. “ _I’m not allowed to._ ” By now, Allison was just watching quietly.

“Not allowed to?” I ask. “Who told you you can’t?”

Jason rubs his arm a little. “ _It’s one of the rules I have to follow._ ”

“What rules?” I ask. I was getting increasingly worried about Jason.

“ _Don't eat food for others, don’t talk, don’t show your face, don’t argue, work comes first, do what your told._ ” were what he wrote.

Some of those were really concerning. But before I could ask more questions, Allison got up and took Jason’s hand. “You wanted to show me a new mask you made, right? Lets go check it out.” She walks off with Jason, leaving what was left of her dinner behind.

I sigh softly as they left. Whatever was going on with Jason was a lot worse than I thought. I take an extra plate of food and leave.

I walk over to Ravenclaw’s room. As far as I was aware, he hasn’t left since the motive. I or my ear to the door. I think I heard a shower running. I knock loudly.

It took a few minutes for the door to be opened a tiny sliver. “Wh-Wh-What d-do you w-want..?” Ravenclaw stammers softly.

I hold up the plate so he could see it better. “I brought you dinner. Figured you’d be hungry...”

Ravenclaw was quiet for a moment before opening the door enough to snatch the plate from my hand and take it into the room. “Th-Thanks...”

I tried to step in but he shut the door to a sliver again. “N-No, you can’t c-come in. I uh...I-I’m naked...”

I didn’t believe that at all considering I saw his coat when he took the food from me, but I don’t press on with that. “I just want to come in and talk. That motive really upset you.”

Ravenclaw drums his fingers on his door. “Oh...w-well...j-just for a second...b-but then you have to l-leave!”

I nod a bit. “Alright.” Ravenclaw opens the door and steps out of the way. I walk into the room.

Ravenclaw’s room was white and sterile. That was the best way to describe it. Everything was a shining white and sparkling clean. It all looked completely spotless.

Ravenclaw sprays something in my face as I walked in. I start coughing and trying to wave it away. “What the hell?!”

“D-Disinfectant spray,” he says. “Y-You c-could he carry s-some kind of d-disease on you...” He grabs a disinfectant wipe next and begins to scrub down my arms and hands.

He rubbed hard, pulling on my skin and making it red. I had to smack his hands away when it began to hurt. “Knock it off!” I snap angrily. “You’re hurting me!”

Ravenclaw flinches and shrinks back, shaking. “I-I-I’m s-Sorry!”

I grab the wipe off the floor after he had dropped it. “Just...relax a little, Okay? You’re alright.”

Ravenclaw keeps shaking. “B-But what if I’m n-not?! What if I’m a-already sick and d-dying and I just don’t know it?! I-I can feel the g-germs now! Getting into my sk-skin and I-infecting me from the inside!”

I frown a bit and walk over to him. “Hey, calm down. You’re not sick, I promise.”

“B-But you don’t know that!” he yells. “They d-didn’t know it when m-my brother was and now he’s d-dead! I-I don’t want t-to die like him!”

I freeze. There was an odd silence after Ravenclaw had said that. He sinks down to the floor after a moment and curls up into the fetal position, crying.

I hesitantly kneel down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Just...Just relax...you’re not going to die of being sick. I promise...”

Ravenclaw kept crying. “I-Influenza...” He says. “He was o-only a b-b-baby...we were t-twins and he d-died as a b-baby...”

I frown a tiny bit. I didn’t leave the room until I got Ravenclaw in bed and calmed down. I told him goodnight but he didn’t respond. I left his room.

I went back to my room and got in bed. I could still vaguely feel the bugs crawling all over me. It made me uncomfortable. But now I was more worried about Ravenclaw and how the others would react to this motive. It was clear things wouldn’t end well.

I end up falling asleep, dreaming of bugs burrowing into my skin.


	19. Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Daily Life Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning in end notes!

I wake up slowly the next day to the morning announcement. I felt a little better than yesterday, but the nightmare was kind of sticking to me.

I get myself ready for the day after looking myself over in the mirror for any possible bugs. Once I was done with all that, I left my room and went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast.

The others were in the cafeteria as well, eating breakfast or just waiting around for the motive to go on. I guess I could find some solace that I wasn’t going to be sent up.

I get a small breakfast and sit next to Ravenclaw, who was sitting at his usual spot with his usual clothing on. I could tell how he was feeling thanks to the mask.

“You feeling better today..?” I ask him tentatively. He nods gently in response. He had a cup of pudding, but he was simply stirring it around rather than eating it.

I gently put a hand in Ravenclaw’s shoulder. He flinched and tensed up before slowly relaxing. I could hear him crying behind his mask.

Monokuma walks in and we all look at him. He didn’t have his chair this time. Without any warning or even an announcement, he leapt onto the table Jason was sitting at and marched right up to him.

Jason looks at Monokuma. I could tell how nervous he was. Monokuma pulls back his fist and swings it at Jason.

The hit never connected but that didn’t seem to matter. Jason begin screaming loudly, flailing around and falling back into the floor. He skitters away and up to the wall. As soon as he reached it, he curled up into a tight ball, screaming and crying. That...wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

Allison was quick to hurry to his side and try to calm him down but Jason seems to be in complete hysterics. Even trying to touching him made him just panic worse.

Monokuma gesture to Yavin now. He gets up slowly and makes his way over to the bear. There’s a rumble from above and a tube drops down around Yavin. It was made of metal and was about as big as he was.

After a moment of nothing, we could hear Yavin begin banging on the tube. He was screaming inside. It sounded like he was trying to escape. But after awhile, it went silent. The tube left shortly after.

Yavin was curled up tightly on the ground, shaking and keeping his head tucked into his legs. Was he claustrophobic?

Erika and Martha end up helping Yavin so I go over to Jason to help Allison.

Yavin was calmed down first. He seemed more embarrassed by his freakout than anything. Jason took some time.

It was and hour before Jason relaxed. He had managed to get him to his room before he finally calmed down. Now the three of us were sitting on his bed with Allison gently petting him. Jason was leaning into it and seemed very relaxed by the gesture. It...was a little weird, in my opinion. But whatever helped.

“Are you feeling better now, Jason?” I ask him. He nods gently in response. “Do you wanna talk about what just happened?”

Jason pauses for a second before slowly sitting up. Allison and I watch quietly as he reaches up and removes his mask.

Jason’s face looked awful, to say the least. He had a few bruises here and there and one of his cheeks was swollen. He had a black eye that looked serious. Both his nose and lip were busted up, but the nose looked nearly healed. It looked like he was missing a tooth.

Allison puts a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp of surprise. I was utterly silent.

“Jason, what happened to you..?” she asks softly.

Jason looks down and gingerly grabs his notebook. “ _I was a bad boy._ ”

“...what does that mean?” I ask him.

“ _I was being bad and had to be punished_ ,” he responds.

Allison hugged Jason tightly at that, catching him by surprise. I knew there was something wrong with Jason’s homelife. There had to have been.

The two didn’t say much else and I began to feel like a third wheel. I got up and left the two alone. I decide to go hang out with some of the others and try to take my mind off of this.

Ravenclaw was inside the cafeteria still when I checked. He had eaten the cup of pudding he had but otherwise hasn’t moved much.

I walk over and sit down next to him. He didn’t say anything to me. “Mind if I hang out with you?” I ask him.

“...it’s...o-okay...” he murmurs quietly.

I smile a bit and go get some more pudding for the both of us. He unzips his mask to start eating it. I spend time eating snacks with Ravenclaw. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“You really like pudding, huh?” I ask him after he had finished digging into his fourth one.

He nods a bit, seemingly embarrassed. “It’s a uh...nice c-comfort food...”

I pat his back gently. “That’s good to know...so did you get into epidemiology to prevent yourself from getting sick?”

Ravenclaw pauses before nodding. “Mhmm...I was so sc-scared that I’d um...fall ill. I j-just wanted to...to keep myself safe...”

It seemed like this fear of getting sick was deeply rooted into just about everything that made Ravenclaw what he was now. I felt bad for him.

“B-But...I did find an a-actually interest in what I was st-studying...” he murmurs softly. He sounded a little happier. “I-It was very n-nice to learn about!”

I smile a tiny bit. “It’s good to know you at least found something good out of it.”

Ravenclaw nods a bit. “Y-Yeah! I guess I did...”

Ravenclaw was in a much better mood when I said my goodbyes to him and left. I was glad he was feeling better.

I noticed Allison was in the bakery when I entered, so I walk over to her. “Hey, What are you up to?” I ask her.

She looks at me and smiles. “Oh, nothing much. Just getting some snacks for me and Jason. He wants to spend some time with me.”

I smile a tiny bit. “That sounds nice. Do you want me to help you out with that?”

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” she says. “We’re getting a bit of everything so the two of us can just binge!”

“Sounds like fun,” I say. “I’ll make sure you have plenty to work with then.”

Allison grins and the two of us begin collecting sweets. I spend time hoarding food with Allison. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“You and Jason are pretty good friends,” I comment have we had collected more than enough for the two of them. “Do you have friends like this back home?”

“Mm...kinda,” Allison says. “I did when I went to school but my parents had started homeschooling me after a while.”

“Why did they do something like that?” I ask curiously.

“Oh, they were just getting worried over nothing,” she says casually, waving a hand around dismissively. “Always scared I’ll hurt myself or get myself killed. As if I haven’t gone to the hospital enough times to prove I’ll be fine.”

“Sounds intense...” I murmur. I don’t think I could imagine what kind of life Allison lives. I get freaked out over having a paper cut.

“I made friends with some of the staff,” she comments. “Like this really nice nurse that sneaks me suckers when no one is looking! We’re gal pals.”

I snickered a bit when she said that. She shoves me playfully. “Don’t laugh you big jerk!”

“Anyway,” I say after calming down, “what about kids your age?”

“Well...there is one. My neighbor. She’s kind of annoying but she visits me a lot and my parents always tell me to be nice,” she says. Judging by the look on her face, I could tell she wasn’t found of her neighbor.

“It was nice chatting, but I need to hurry up or Jason will worry,” Allison says, grabbing the baskets we filled with food. She leaves me a cupcake and hurries off. I grab my snack and leave.

I noticed Damond in the fancy restaurant. He had ordered a king salmon, which he was eating. He kept sliding small bites of it into the box though.

“Damond, hey!” I greet. “You and your demon eating?” I still didn’t believe there was a demon in that box, but I didn’t want to argue over it either.

He looks over and nods curtly. “Indeed we are. The two of us enjoy cooked salmon very much.”

“That’s good to know,” I say. “I see you have some dinner rolls...”

He looks at the basket of rolls that came with his meal as I said that. He gently pushes it toward me. “Here. We’re not a fan of them.”

I sit down across from Damond and begin eating. There was nothing sweeter in life than free bread at restaurants.

Damond returns to eating his dinner. It didn’t seem like much had to be said right now. I spend time eating a fancy dinner with Damond. The two of us grew a little closer today.

Damond reaches into the box after the salmon was done to pet whatever was inside. “Did you enjoy your dinner my special being from another realm?”

“Is that thing like a pet?” I ask Damond.

“No!” he snaps suddenly, pulling his hand out of the box and closing it. “He is a dear friend and close companion of mine!”

“Uh, sorry,” I say. “So...how did the two of you meet?”

“I summoned him one cold night in winter,” he says. “The demon didn’t appear immediately. No, I found this red box within the darkness of an alley. And when I looked inside, I saw the demon and knew it worked...”

So he was trying to get a demon the entire time? “What does it look like?”

“It’s shape is ever changing!” he says. “It can look like anything it wishes!”

“And am I not allowed to see it?” I ask him.

He grabs the box defensively and holds it close. “No! No one is allowed to lay eyes upon him but me! He will hide himself from your eyes if he must!”

I sigh a tiny bit. “Alright, Alright. I get it. No lookin at the demon.”

Damond huffs gently and nods. “That’s exactly right!” He stands up. “We have finished our food. We will be taking our leave.” He walks out of the room with his box.

I sigh and get up. I was positive something had to be inside that box. I just didn’t know what. I leave as well.

I head to my room for the night in time for the nighttime announcement to play. I was still so happy to be able to actually sleep finally.

I get into bed and lay down, closing my eyes. I kept my mind as clear as possible as I slipped into unconsciousness. I managed to sleep without any nightmares tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied domestic abuse


	20. Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Daily Life Part III

The morning announcement wakes me up as usual. I wanted to take a hammer to that stupid monitor and break it into a million pieces sometimes.

I get myself out of bed and get ready for the day. I knew if I stayed in bed too long, I’d be late for the motive. And that was against Monokuma’s stupid rules.

I enter the cafeteria as usual and see everyone here as usual. Things would be calm for now. I go sit down at my usual spot. Jason joined me and Ravenclaw today.

“Is Allison not sitting with you?” I ask him. Jason points and I look at what he was pointing at.

Allison was sitting with Yavin today. Yavin was blushing darkly and looked embarrassed. I think they were talking about the motive from yesterday.

“So you’re really afraid of tight spaces?” she asks him. “Then how do you do all the stuff you normally do?”

He chuckles softly. “It helps with the act. If I’m scared, I’ll want to get out faster. And getting it faster shows how good I am.”

She nods. “Right! That makes sense!”

Monokuma waddles in and everyone looks at him. Once again, he didn’t seem to have the chair with him. He also made no announcement of any kind. It made it more nerve racking, to be honest.

Monokuma wanders around aimlessly for a bit before stopping near Erika, Victor, and Damond. He leaps up and snatched the box for Damond and runs off.

Damond screeches loudly and chases him, trying to grab the bear or the box. But he wasn’t fast enough.

Monokuma kept into Martha’s arms and opened the box right in front of her. Only she got a good look inside. Yavin tried to peek but the lid was slammed shut and Damond snatched it from the bear.

I frown a tiny bit as Damond shuffles off to a corner or the room and sits down, facing away from everyone and holding the box in his lap. He was murmuring softly to whatever was inside.

Monokuma giggles and wiggles around in Martha’s arms. She unceremoniously drops him into the floor. The bear growls and glares at her with a glowing red eye. “Watch it! I won’t let that one slide next time!”

He gets up and dusts himself off, back to waddlin around. He stops behind Erika. Then the lights in the room shut off.

There’s a loud scream that echoes out. It sounded like Erika’s voice! Some people were yelling as well, but they sounded more angry or confused. Erika only sounded scared.

I could hear people stumble around. Erika screamed again and there was a thump as someone fell over. The lights turned back on.

Erika was curled up under the table she had been at, hands over her head and shaking like a leaf. Victor was sprawled out on the floor, looking dazed and confused. I don’t think he understood what he was doing there.

Damond was he one to hurry over to Erika and get her or from under the table. She kicked and screamed at first, her eyes closed. But when she opened them, she latched onto Damond tightly, hiding her face in his chest and shaking. A dark blush crosses Damond’s cheek and he hesitantly pats her head, looking away.

Victor finally gets up, rubbing his head. He must have hit it when Erika shoved him over. I watch the two of them take her out of the room in silence.

Monokuma cackles happily. “Now that’s what I call real fear! I can’t wait for tomorrow’s exciting show!” He left in a hurry, leaving us all to think about his words quietly. Eventually, the others left as well.

I wandered off to find someone to spend some time with. I found Yavin trying to set up another escape for himself in the theater.

He looks at me as I enter. He was sitting in a chair and trying to get some chains set up around himself. “Oh, Ark! Just the man I wanted to see!”

“You need my help again?” I ask him.

He grins and nods. “Yeah! So come here!”

I sigh softly and walk over. At least I’d be able to see another act from him. “What do you need me to do?”

“Lock my handcuffs on me and then tie up these chains,” he says. I shrug and do as I was told. I spend time helping Yavin our with his act. The two of us grew a little closer today.

Yavin managed to unlock his handcuffs and the chains without too much difficulty. I’m pretty sure he had a lockpick in his hand that he used, but I wasn’t sure.

He stands up and dusts himself off. “I made good time on that. Thanks for the help again.”

I nod a bit. I wasn’t actually sure myself but the confirmation was nice. “How did you get into doing something like this, anyway?”

Yavin looks at me. “You want the origin story, huh? Well, it all started when I got locked in a cage.”

“Why the hell were you locked in a cage?!” I demand.

“Huh? Oh, well, it was my great grandma’s. It was in her basement and had been messing around inside it and it locked behind me,” he explains.

Now I wanted to ask why his great grandmother owned a large cage. But I didn’t want to interrupt his story a second time.

“Anyway,” he continues, “the cage was locked. I was stuck inside of it for nearly three days. My great grandma had been out of town and no one else was around to hear me yelling.”

Is that where his fear of being trapped came from? If he scared of getting stuck somewhere too if that was the case.

“I felt like I was going to die in that cage when I managed to get the lock open with an old coat hanger I had been able to reach from behind the bars,” Yavin goes on. “First thing I did was chug water straight out of the tap from the sink.”

“That’s...an impressive story,” I tell him.

Yavin grins. “Glad you think so, because it’s total bullshit!”

“Wait, What?!” I say in shock.

Yavin grins deviously and puts his hands behind his head. “You’re gonna need to be a bit closer to me as a friend if you want the real story. But for now, you can enjoy that one!”

I frown a little and look away. I felt embarrassed for listening to any of that. When I looked back to tell Yavin off, he had left without me noticing. I grumble softly and leave as well.

I entered the candy shop and found Sacri there. They were munching on some king-sized chocolate bars with glee. They really seemed to enjoy this room.

“Ark, my friend, come here!” they say as I enter, gesturing for me to walk over.

“What’s up?” I ask, walking to them.

“I wish to share this bountiful chocolate with you!” they declare. “It is large and best shared with a companion!”

I smile a tiny bit. “You know you can that on your own, right?”

“That just wouldn’t be right!” they demand. “No, I must share it with those close to me.”

“Well, don’t let me be the one to turn down free chocolate,” I say. Sacri breaks off the back half of he bar and gives it to me. I spend time eating candy with Sacri. The two of us grew a little closer today.

We managed to work out way through a few candy bars before I got sick on chocolate. “Hey, I was wondering,” I say. “But can I know a bit more about your...religion?”

“Aha! So you do wish to join then, yes? Oh, I knew you would see His light!” they say excitedly.

“Wait, that’s not it,” I say quickly. “I just wanted to know more about it.

“Ah, I see...” Sacri says. They seemed a little disappointed but quickly smile again. “Well, I’m always happy to inform others. Learning about things such as religion can be very interesting!”

I sigh gently in relief. “Alright...so I was wondering if your religion had some kind of...initiation.”

They smile a bit. “Are you sure you are not trying to join?”

I nod. “I’m sure.”

They shrug a bit. “Very well. Yes, there is an initiation. One must memorize a scripture from His Holy Scrolls and then they just get this.” Sacri holds out their hand to show and odd scar. I remember feeling that when we first met.

The scar was three circles within each other. A stick hand was reaching out from the center of the circles. The hand ws pointed toward Sacri’s wrist. it was a bit unsettling.

“What does it mean?” I ask them.

“It represents His ability to reach out to those no matter what might be in His way,” they say. “It also represents the first sacrifice that must be made by all new members.”

More talk of sacrificing. I was sensing a theme here. “Is sacrifice stuff common for your religion?”

They smile and nod. “Yes, it is! It shows the dedication of a memory towards Him. Someone willing to give up anything is someone worthy of His attention. H, speaking of which, I really must be going. We can talk again later. Farewell!” They walk out of the room.

I was now behind convicted they were part of a cult. But I don’t think I could do anything to help. I sigh softly and walk off.

I entered the game room and found Satoshi at one of the arcade cabinets, hard at work at trying to get a high score on a fighting game.

I walk over and look at him. “Mind if I play with you?” I ask him.

He glances at me and nods his head at the second spot. “Go ahead! But I think the computer would be a better challenge than someone as normal and plain as you! Haha!”

Satoshi’s constant teasing was getting on my nerves. I take the other spot at the game. “Fine! You’re on, jackass!”

“Haha! I love a fighting spirit! Bring it!” Satoshi declares. I spend time fighting Satoshi in a video game. The two of us grew a little closer today.

Satoshi and I finally finish the game on a tie. Any win I got despite whatever strategy he whipped out was for pure rage and spite alone. Satoshi seemed shocked by the outcome.

He blinks, wide-eyes behind his goggles. “Wow...maybe you aren’t as lame as I thought! Haha!”

“Uh...Thanks...” I murmur. “Why do you keep talking to me like that, though?”

“Hm? Talking to you like what?” he asks me.

“You always talk down to me and call me names when you’re addressing me,” I say. “It’s getting tiring...”

“Oh, so I?” Satoshi asks. “Huh, didn’t notice! Haha!”

“Wha—How do you not notice?” I ask him. “You say it every time!”

“I’ve really never noticed,” he claims. “Sometimes I don’t think before I speak.”

“That’s not a good thing...” I mumble.

He grins wide. “It’s helps with the creative process! Haha! If I remove that filter, I get untapped creativity all the time! And then I can use it for my work!”

“I really think you should consider just...taking a second to think about what you’re gonna say,” I tell him.

“Haha! But how will she recognize me if I do?” he asks.

“...who’s she?” I ask him.

Satoshi was quiet for a second. His smile falters. “Ah, haha! Sometimes I do say too much! Better get going!” He hurries off before I could ask more questions.

I sigh deeply and head to my room. The others weren’t so bad, but boy could they be exhaustive. I get to my room on time for the nighttime announcement to play.

I get in bed and yank the covers over myself. I knew this situation couldn’t go on for much longer. It was only a matter of time before someone caved.

I fell asleep thinking about the awful truth of my life here.


	21. Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Killing Life Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings below!

I finally wake up the next day to the morning announcement. I get out of bed as usual and get ready for the day as usual. I was starting to skip into a pattern. It was kind of comforting, I guess.

I head out of the hall and to the cafeteria to get myself breakfast and wait with the others for Monokuma’s typical meeting.

I entered the cafeteria and sat down. Everyone was here and things seemed normal. I noticed Martha whispering something to Yavin. I couldn’t tell what they were possibly talking about, though. I also notice everyone had a bag of candy.

Sacri walks over to me and sets down a bag of assorted candy in front of me. “Here, enjoy something sweet! I gave one to everybody!”

I smile a tiny bit and take the bag, beginning to eat from it. “Thanks. That was nice of you.”

We all had candy for breakfast, even if a couple people had normal food to go with it. Around that time I when Monokuma waddles in.

Everyone was silent as he approached us. I hated the smug look on his face and that disturbing gleam of mischief in his red eye. He was holding two items today. A baseball bat and a megaphone. I didn’t like where this was going.

He goes up to Victor after a moment and raises up the bat. He hits Victor in the head. I could see pain go from shock on his face. I think he switched again. Then he’s hit a second time. And then a third. And then a fourth!

None of the hits seemed to do serious damage. I didn’t see any blood and Victor didn’t look like he was suffering from any brain damage. But the constant switching made him scream as he finally cracked and try to crawl across the table to get away from it.

Erika and Damond attempt to relax Victor while he was busy screaming and trying to get away from the now ended onslaught by Monokuma.

Monokuma focused his attention into the megaphone while Victor was in his panic. “This true fear doubles as a secret reveal! Isn’t that just wonderful?”

Yavin flips him off from in the crowd. If Monokuma saw, he ignored it.

“So! This secret belongs to our very special nameless friend!” Monokuma says happily.

We all look at Sacri. Hey seemed frightened now. Hey quickly stand up. “No! I hold no such thing! Y-You will end this slander at once!”

I think Monokuma’s grin widened as he continued on. “See, that thing in the cloak over here might act all high and mighty about heir precious god but...”

“Silence!” Sacri yells. “There will be silence at ONCE! I will be hearing none of this nonsense!”

“...they totally don’t believe in their god at all!” Monokuma says. “Well, at least, not when they begin to doubt him so often!”

Sacri noticeably stiffened under their cloak before their face turns into one of rage. “BLASPHEMY!” they screech. “This is BLASPHEMY! I will not stand for such lies to be uttered by an insolent pest such as yourself! Your soul will rot for all eternity for speaking such falsehoods about I!”

“But...it’s not false, is it?” Satoshi says. “So far, all of these motives have been totally true! So that means it has to be true for you, too! Haha!”

Sacri seemed to deflate a bit as their argument was countered. “Well...but I...”

“He...does have a point,” Allison murmurs.

“It makes a lot of sense to me,” Yavin adds.

Sacri was totally silent. Tears begin to prick at their eye. They run off, crying.

I got up from my chair. “What the hell was all that about?” I ask. “You guys upset them!”

“Well maybe it’s best they got away from their crazed cult!” Bea snaps.

“Or at least stopped trying to indoctrinate is,” Ishida adds.

“You guys are complete assholes...” I murmur. I leave the room to go catch up to Sacri.

It took me a bit of searching to find them in their room. I could hear them crying on the other side of their door. I knock loudly.

After a moment, the door opens a tiny bit. They peek out at me from the doorway. “Oh...Ark...have you come to remind me how horrible I am..?”

I frown a bit and shake my head. “I came to check on you and—“ I notice the sound of something dripping. “What’s that noise?”

“It...It is nothing,” they say. I could hear it though. It was coming from right on the other side of the door. “I think you should go.” They try to close the door.

I stick my foot in the way. “Sacri, what is that?”

“As I said, it is nothing! Now please leave!” they demand. But I was able to force the door open. Apparently, they aren’t very strong. But there was something else stopping from from keeping me out.

One of their arms was soaked in blood. The dripping noise was from the blood dripping off the tip of their sleeve. They were holding a bloody knife in their hand.

“What...What are you doing?!” I yell in shock.

They shakily hold the knife up to me. “St-Stay back! I...I have to repent for my sins! I must have Him forgive me! This is the only way!”

I take a step forward and they step back, still keeping the knife pointed at me. “I said stay back! I’ll stab you! I’ll spill your blood if you stand in my way!”

“Sacri, please put the knife down...” I say softly. I take another step toward them. They back up more.

“Silence!” they yell. “I know what I am doing! So leave me alone!” They back into the wall. I walk up to them. They don’t touch me with the knife.

I gently grab the knife. I felt their hand shaking. I take it from them with no restraint. I set it down on a small desk they had nearby. By this point, they were crying.

I felt their weight against me as they collapsed into me, crying into my chest. I...wasn’t really sure what to do. It felt like everyone started crying around me here. How messed up were these guys, anyway? What was wrong with this school?

I get Sacri to sit down and let go of me. “I need to get bandages for your arm. Can you stay here and wait?” I ask. They nod weakly. I get up and leave.

I enter the lab and get some bandaging from where it was kept. Victor, Erika, and Damond were all here as well. They seemed to be doing some experiments with Victor. He seemed in a better mood because of it. They all seemed to have bandages around their left hands and Damond didn’t have his box.

I left without talking to them. I needed to get back to Sacri. I didn’t really have the time for talking.

I return to their room to find they hadn’t moved from heir spot on the bed. I roll up their sleeve and look at the wounds. None of them were too deep so I don’t think stitches were necessary. But there were definitely a lot of them, which is probably why there was so much blood. I get to work on patching them up.

“I’m a fraud...” they say weakly. “An impure stain trying to hide amongst the purity of His followers. I don’t deserve to be His sacrifice if I cannot be fully devot...I can no longer do that...I am nothing now...”

“Maybe you should use his as a new opportunity,” I say. “If you can't be a sacrifice anymore, then maybe trying to live your life instead of waiting for it to end.”

“But...But how can I do such a thing?” Hey ask. “I am nothing...my entire life has been building up to such a moment and it is no longer within reach...”

“When we get out of here, I’ll help you,” I say. “We’ll try as many things as you want so you can find something to be other than a sacrifice. We can try to reinvent yourself.”

“...do...do you mean this..?” they ask me.

I smile softly. “Yeah, I do. So...just relax. And don’t do this to yourself anymore.” I finish with the bandaging.

They look away. “...I...I can try...”

I sigh and get up by they grab my wrist. “No, wait...can...can you keep me company? Please? I don’t feel as though I should be alone right now.”

I look at them and nod, sitting back down. “Of course. I’ll stay right here.”

They smile a tiny bit and get up to change into a fresh cloak. I got a good look at them without it on. They wore light blue pajama that looked very comfortable. Slippers of the same color went with it. Their hair was messy and black and longer in the back than the front. He eye they usually kept hidden was blind, judging by the milky white color of it. They were also thin. Matched with their height, I imagined a tree.

They get fresh clothes on and sit down next to me again. They pull some candy or from under their bed and share it with me. The two of us relaxed together for a while until it happened.

“It looks like two bodies have been discovered!” Monokuma says. “After a certain amount of time, which you can use however you like, the class trial will begin!”

“That...was the body discovery announcement,” Sacri says.

“Did he say two..?” I murmur.

The two of us got up and hurried out of the room. It didn’t take long to find the bodies since everyone was crowding around the same room, the bakery. I had to shove past everyone in the doorway to get a look at what was going on. And what I saw made me sick to my stomach.

Martha was pinned to the very back wall with two bread knives stabbed through her hands, which had her puppets on them. A third bread knife was sticking out of her chest where her heart was.

I look at the counter and see a pair of feet poking out. Walking over, I saw Yavin’s body. A plastic bag that usually held the loaves of bread was around his head, a look of panic etched onto his face. His handcuff was closed over the door of one of the bottom cabinets.

I felt panic rise up in me along with a scream. I heard it leave through my mouth but I didn’t feel like I was the one doing it. My mind was swimming in thoughts that rushed through at lightning speed. But one thought kept working its way back into my mind.

Martha Schneider, the SHSL Hand Puppeteer, and Yavin Mathers, the SHSL Escape Artist, were dead.

**New Killing Life - Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself**

It took a moment for the initial shock to wear out for me. I wasn’t sure about the others. “Wh-Why are there two..?” I ask weakly.

“It’s hard to say,” Ishida says. “We’ll have to look around first and check.”

“A double murder! How awful! Haha!” Satoshi says.

“So bloooooody!” Erika exclaims.

I exude now was a good time to start tuning hem our. I needed to focus and look around.

I go over to Martha’s body first. It looked...kind of fresh. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Three knives were driven through her, two in her hands and through her puppets and one in her chest. The puppets were also stabbed in the chest. There was a note in her pocket. I take it out to read it.

Come to the bakery in an hour or someone is going to die. Don’t be late and don’t tell anyone you got this letter. Consider this a warning. There was a smear of blood on the bottom of the note. I frown and look at Yavin. Was that who the killer was talking about? I walk over to him.

The bag that was over Yavin’s head came from the bread loaves that were stored in bags. The bread was sitting on the counter right now. There was a nasty wound on the back of Yavin’s head. The handcuffs he always wore were now keeping him stuck against a cabinet door. It was open but nothing inside looked out of place. A look of panic was ok Yavin’s face at the moment. He was also noticeably soaking wet.

I begin to look around the room itself. There was a metal tray that normally held cookies on the floor with the cookies scattered around. The tray was dented and blood smeared the back of it. A small key, probably for Yavin’s handcuffs, were laying on the other side of the room.

I left the room to go look around some more. I checked the recording studio. There were odd markings on the floor in there. It looked like blood was dribbled into the center of it all. There was black wax on the floor.

I check the lab as well. It looked like there was an explosion in here since smoke covered everything. Some lab equipment, like test tubes. We’re sitting out with liquids in them. I remember seeing Victor, Erika, and Damond here. Did they do this?

In the cafeteria, I notice none of the knives seemed to have been used. I also saw some of Martha’s puppets here.

I went into the theater to search after that and found the water tank for Yavin’s act had been pulled out. There was water everywhere and it looked like he left in a hurry. The water looked a little discolored for some reason, but I couldn’t put my finger on to why.

There was a note nearby. It was the same one Martha received, right down to the smear of blood.

The trial announcement plays as I left the room. I wasn’t sure if I was satisfied with this, but I had no choice. I head to the elevator.

I get into the elevator with everyone else. Damond was clutching his box tightly. It seems he had grabbed it again.

As usual, the elevator went into a free fall after a second. Everyone manages to keep themselves held up this time, even as the elevator came to a screeching halt.

I still couldn’t believe two people were dead. And now we have to pick another to die. This whole thing just got crazier and crazier but I knew this was the only way to survive.

The elevator comes to a screeching halt and the doors open. We all left after collecting ourselves. This was it, then. No turning back. The third class trial has begun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self harm  
> Chest gore


	22. Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Killing Life Trial Part I

Everyone takes their places at their podiums as usual. Two new portraits had been added but two others were updated. Hiroshi, Eddy, Martha, and Yavin all had crossed our faces now. Hiroshi and Martha got normal X’s over their faces. Eddy had a bird with its wings spread over his and Yavin had straight lines going down, like bars to a jail cell.

I sigh deeply and look down. I had to stay focused. This was a matter of life and death. I had to do what I could to help.

“We n-need to Uh...pick a body to b-begin with,” Ravenclaw says.

“I saw we start with Martha,” Victor says. “As good of a place as any other!”

“Please don’t talk about the bodies like that...” Allison says.

“Anyway,” Ishida says, “the murder itself was very was very gruesome.”

“Someone pinned her to a wall by her hands and stabbed her chest,” Sacri points out. “Even her puppets were stabbed through their chests.”

“The entire thing feels purposeful,” Satoshi says. “Haha! We’re dealing with a real psychopath!”

“Did anyone see the note in her pocket?” Methuselah asks. “Someone had threatened her.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” I say. “The note said someone would die if she didn’t show up.”

“She must have gotten in while she was in the cafeteria,” Methuselah says. “Her puppets were sitting around in there.”

“Yavin must be the one the note was talking about,” Damond declares. “She must have been late and he was killed!”

“I...don’t think that’s right,” I murmur.

“What? Are you saying I’m wrong again?” Damond asks angrily. “The demon doesn’t take kindly to such insults!”

“Damond, hold on a second!” I try to say.

“I will smite you where you stand!” he yells.

It looks like Damond was going to be a problem again. I kind of wish we could just talk it out normally, but it seems it just didn’t work like that here. I’d have to talk through him to move on.

“Martha got a threatening letter.”

“Said letter promised someone would die and even had blood.”

“And that blood came from Yavin’s wound!”

“It sounds likely I guess,” I say. “But that’s not right. There’s something you’re missing.”

“I’m not missing anything!”

“Yavin was killed for Martha’s tardiness!”

“That’s why he was in the bakery!”

In that instant, I saw it. An opening I could use to end this! “I’ll cut your words down!” I yell out.

Damond scowls. “Excuse me?!”

“There was another note,” I say. “It was left in the theater where Yavin was practicing his water tank escape act.”

“Oh!” Erika says in realization. “Thaaaaat’s why he was aaaaall wet!”

“Exactly,” I say. “Yavin had been in his water tank when he noticed the note. He must have been able to read it well enough to panic and rush out.”

“So I think we can agree the notes were faked,” Allison says.

“ _They were?_ ” Jason writes.

“They have to be!” Satoshi agreed. “It was an elaborate ruse to lure the two in and murder them! Haha!”

“So someone killed twooooo people on purpose,” Erika says. “How aaaaawful”

“Why...Why do something so terrible..?” Allison asks.

“I’m sure they had reasons!” Victor chimes in. “Everyone always has a motive! That’s the best part!”

“Can you stop talking about this so excitedly?” Damond asks. “Your eagerness disturbs me greatly.

“Man, you just gotta learn how to have fun!” Victor demands.

“Party poopeeeeeer!” Erika says.

Damond blushes darkly and looks away. “I am not...”

“If we could move on,” Ishida says. “I’d like to talk about why it appears Yavin was struck in the head and Martha wasn’t.”

“Could he have...um...r-run into the middle of M-Martha being murdered?” Ravenclaw asks softly.

“Why would you think something like that?” Damond asks.

“Th-The um...uh...n-never mind...it’s stupid...” he murmurs.

“Perhaps not,” Sacri says. “There could be some validity to what you are trying to say.”

“A-Ah! Really?!” Ravenclaw asks. He seemed excited.

“Maybe he’s right,” I say, “at least, about a sort of it.”

“N-Now I’m confused...” Ravenclaw murmurs.

“I’m saying Yavin did run into the middle of it,” I say. “But...Martha might have been the one to do the damaging blow.”

“What?! Why would it be Martha?!” Allison demands.

“It does seem like an odd thing for her to do,” Methuselah agreed.

“Yavin had left in a rush,” I say. “So he was late. If the killer had gotten there first, Martha could have been convicted Yavin was the one trying to hurt people...”

“Do you have any evidence to support this claim?” Satoshi says. “I don’t expect a totally inexperienced rando like you to get everything right! It’s okay to be wrong sometimes.”

“O-Of course I have evidence!” I demand. “The evidence is the choice of weapon.”

“ _You mean that cookie tray, right?_ ” Jason writes.

“Exactly,” I say. “Bloody and dented, it shows hat was he weapon.”

“But how does this prove your theory correct?” Ishida replies. “Something like that doesn’t prove Martha is the attacker.”

“Not on its own,” I agree. “But think about it. It’s too messy. Using s cookie tray with cookies already on it? When the killer used the bag to suffocate Yavin, the bag bread was set on the counter carefully. But those cookies were scattered on the floor. If Martha used it, she’d be in a panic and not think twice about something like that.”

“But how could Martha be convinced so easily by the killer?” Damond ask. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Perhaps...the killer had their own note,” Sacri ponders. “I recall Yavin leaving his behind. So without any proof, would it not make sense for Martha to make a hasty judgment in her paranoia?”

“Then thaaaaaat means the killer manipulated her into heeeeeelping with the crime,” Erika says. “It’s geeeenius!”

“What is wrong with you two?!” Allison demands. “You keep talking about this whole thing like it’s just some game to you!”

“I have criiiiippling paranoia!” Erika says.

“I’m just a dick,” Victor shrugs.

Allison sighs and puts her hand to her head. “And I have a migraine...”

“It would make sense if Martha helped get Yavin locked to the cabinet then,” I say, trying to move things back on course. “If she was convinced Yavin was the threat, she’d want to keep him locked up.”

“But the killer only used that to make it easier to kill him,” Methuselah says.

“After that, the killer musta killed Martha! Truly awful! Haha!” Satoshi says.

“Yavin must have woken up by the time the killer was moving onto him,” I say. “That’s why he looked so panicked.”

“All of this is great, but we aren’t really any closer to finding the killer, are we?” Victor criticizes.

He did have a bit of a point. While we might have figured out how the crime went down, The Who is still a mystery. And that's the biggest and most important mystery. If we were going to figure it out, we’d have to start pointing fingers soon enough.


	23. Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Killing Life Trial Part II

“If we’re going to talk about alibis, I’d like to know what all that stuff in the recording studio was,” Ishida says.

Erika wave her hand around. “That was uuuuuus!”

“Us..?” Methuselah asks.

“Meeeee, Damond and Victooooor!” she says.

“What were you guys doing in there?” Allison asks. “It looked like you were trying to summon a demon!”

“We were!” Victor says with a wide grin.

“Erika wanted to try a ritual with us,” Damond adds.

“Bloooood rituaaaaaal!” shs cheers.

“ _Whose blood did you use?_ ” Jain writes nervously.

Erika holds up her hand. It was wrapped up with some gauze and it was tinted a gentle red near the palm. “Our oooown!”

Damond and Victor both hold up a hand as well, and sure enough, it was identical to Erika’s.

“So the three of you were all bleeding today?” Sacri asks. “Thy is certainly suspicious.”

“Wait, i-is there a demon here?!” Ravenclaw demands. “I-Is that the k-killer?!”

“Don’t be stupid,” Satoshi scolds. “There’s no such thing!”

“Yes there is,” Damond hisses angrily.

Satoshi grins. “Oh yeah? Well did you summon one? Hm?”

“Naaaah!” Erika says. “I think Victor messed it up! Besides, he wanted to try using science to do it afterward!”

“So that explains the mess in the lab!” Allison says.

“At least I know what the three of you were doing in there,” I murmur.

“Please do not ignore me!” Sacri demands. “As I was trying to explain, those three are all suspects! They had fresh wounds today and those notes had blood on them!”

Erika puffs out her cheeks. “This is profiliiiing! You’re so super wrooooong!”

“Let’s not forget someone else took bandages today,” Victor says.

Jason tilts his head. “ _Who?_ ”

Victor points his finger at me. “Ark! He came in while we were experimenting and left with a roll of bandaging! Lots of it, too! Musta been a big injury! Plenty of blood left over...”

“Hold on, it wasn’t for me!” I say. “Sacri needed it!”

“Sacri..?” Allison asks.

Sacri waves hesitantly. “Yes um... that is what he refers to me as.”

“Aha! So the weird cultist has the injury!” Damond declares. “Another suspect!”

“I’m not a cultist!” they demand.

“Yes you are,” everyone says. Sacri looks down, putting a hand over the part of the arm they hurt. I’d have to keep a closer eye on them from now on.

“Anyway,” Victor says. “Isn’t It way more likely they’d use the massive amounts of blood they’d get? And after all, we all saw how they freaked out on everyone today!”

“Hold on a second!” I demand. “It can’t possibly be Sacri! I was with them all day!”

“Yeah, that’s right!” Sacri agrees. “I spent the day eating candy with my friend!”

“So you worked together!” Victor says. “Big deal!”

“Worked together?!” I demand.

“Exactly! One of you killed Yavin and the other killed Martha!” he says.

“That’s insane!” I yell.

“None of the evidence is pointing to an answer like that,” Ishida agrees.

“Mm...But I think it makes sense! Haha!” Satoshi declares. “That’s why two people were targeted on purpose!”

“Besiiiides!” Erika says. “All threeee of us were togetheeeer! And there aren’t three bodiiiiies!”

“Wh-What if one of you left?” Ravenclaw asks.

“The oooonly time anyone leeeeft was duuuring the explooosion!”

“Victor messed everything up and got us covered in stuff and we all had to go clean up,” Damond says.

“It was fuuuun!” Erika cheers.

“Well isn’t that the perfect time to go commit a murder?” Ishida asks.

“I was too busy getting clean to go murder!” Damond demands.

“I was more focused on trying again by Erika dragged me off,” Victor pouts.

“Clean friends are happy frieeeeends!” Erika says.

“But...But there was something wrong with Yavin’s water tank...” Ravenclaw murmurs. “It um...It was d-dirty! I felt disgusting l-looking at it...and what if Uh...a-actually, never mind...”

Wait, it was dirty? I didn’t even see that! I’d have to keep that in mind for now. Thank goodness Ravenclaw has an eye for that kind of stuff.

“I...think it could make sense for Sacri and Ark to kill together if they planned it,” Allison says.

“What?!” I demand. “Allison, there’s nothing that points to us! They just don’t want to be the suspects!”

“ _Well...neither do you guys,_ ” Jason writes. I’m positive he was only agreeing with Allison because he didn’t know what to say.

“Haha! It looks like we’re split down the middle!” Satoshi says.

“Why did you say that?” I ask exhaustedly. “Why do you guys keep saying that? Stop saying it!”

“Split down the middle?!” Monokuma asks excitedly. “That’s means it’s terramorphing time! Lets get morphing!” He presses the button on his chair.

The sounds of engines revving fills the trial room and wheels pop out from under our podiums. Everyone goes flying around the room until there were two groups of us facing each other.

“Today we will be debating between weather Victor, Erika, and Damond are the most suspicious or if it’s Ark and the nameless freak! On the side saying Victor, Erika, and Damond, we have: Ark, Methuselah, the nameless one, Ravenclaw, and Ishida! On the side saying it’s Ark or the nameless guy, we have: Victor, Erika, Damond, Jason, Allison, and Satoshi! So, let’s begin!”

Erika rides forward first, grinning ear to ear. “The cuts couldn’t pooooossibly have enough blood for those noooootes!”

Methuselah crashes with her. “Your bandaging is stained in blood. That seems like it bled plenty to me.”

Allison rode forward next. “If Ark and Sacri killed together, they could easily leave this place!”

Ishida clashes against her. “We have no proof that’s the case. Monokuma could easily add a rule to stop one of them so we can’t cheat the system.”

Victor rides up. “But all three of us were together, and we gain nothing from helping someone kill!”

I go against Victor. “You guys agreed that you all separated after the accident in the lab. That’s ample time for someone to go commit a murder!”

Damond rides up after. “We were all dirty, there’d have to be some kind of mess left from that!”

Ravenclaw crashes with him. “Wh-What if Yavin’s water t-tank was used to clean up? That uh...that’d work great and not draw suspicion!”

Satoshi slides forward. “Please, the answer is in the notes!”

Sacri collides with him. “You can search me up and down, I have no such note on my person!”

We fight and push against each other, trying to be the one to come out on top. The engines roar loudly as they try to keep up with us. But eventually, the other side had to back down and we force them back.

“This is the answer we discovered together!” The five of us shout.

All of the podiums return to their usual positions finally. I sigh in relief.

“Alright, so maybe what you’re saying makes a little more sense...” Allison says finally. Jason nods in agreement.

“Haha! I figured!” Satoshi says. I didn’t believe that for a second.

Victor, Erika, and Damond were all quiet now. They had lost their edge after becoming the minority opinion of the group.

“So...Ravenclaw, you were saying something about he dirty water earlier, right?” Ishida asks.

Ravenclaw nods quickly. “Y-Yes, um...it was hard to n-notice at first...but...b-but uh...there was d-definitely something in the water...”

“Even if that is true, how would the killer dry off so fast?!” Damond demands.

“Are you saying that changing your clothes and fielding off is a difficult and long task?” Ishida asks.

Damond growls in response. His box shakes a little.

I look at it and an idea sparks. “Damond, you take that with you everywhere you go, don’t you?” I ask him.

“What? Yeah, I do. What’s your point?” he asks. “I don’t feel like playing games right now!”

“I don’t remember you having it in the lab,” I say. “I went in there to get those bandages and it was missing.”

“If you think I’m bringing my demon around while Victor Von Psycho is blowing stuff up, you’re as insane as he is!” he demands.

Victor shrugs. “That’s fair.”

“But there’s another thing,” I say.

“Ugh, what now?!” Damond demands.

If I was right, then this is what I needed. This question would prove to me who the killer was. And I already knew who it was! The killer was..!


	24. Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Killing Life Trial Part III

“During the motive, Martha was the one who saw into your box,” I say. “And now she’s dead.”

“So what?!” he snaps. “What exactly does that prove?!”

“Nothing on its own,” I admit. “After all, why would the killer want Martha and Yavin dead? But then I remembered. Martha was whispering something to Yavin that morning! So if the killer noticed, I think they’d want to take action.”

“So you’re proposing the killer is Damond?” Sacri asks.

I nod. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s the only reason I can think of anyone wanting to kill both Martha and Yavin.”

“That would make a lot of sense, actually,” Ishida says.

Satoshi grins wide. “I knew it the whole time! Haha!”

“Wha—no, you didn’t!” I demand.

“What exactly does this prove?!” Damond yells. “Someone could be framing me!”

He was right. Someone else could be framing him. But something was bothering me. “Well...can you guys show me your hands again?”

Everyone reluctantly does it. I look at their hands. Each bandaged with each wrapping noticeably bloody from the stains. Erika and Victor had lifted their left hands while Damond lifted his right. “Damond...was that hand always bandaged?”

Damond...didn’t say anything.

“I remember it was the other hand when I saw you,” I go on. “Why did it switch?”

Damond didn’t seem to have anything to say to us still. He looked very angry but was otherwise quiet.

“That...is true,” Victor says.

Erika looks up at him and frowns. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen her look...upset. “Huh?”

“I mean, after the explosion, he left in a bit of a rush,” Victor says. “And we didn’t really see him again until the murder happened. So—“

“Shut up,” Erika says.

Victor looks at her, surprised. “What did you just say?”

“I said shut up!” she yells suddenly, now getting everyone’s attention.

“Erika, what’s gotten into you?!” Allison demands.

“I’m not letting any of you accuse my best friend of murder!” she yells. “He didn’t do it! I know he didn’t! The answer has to be somewhere else!”

Damond looks at her and frowns softly.

“But Erika, all the evidence is pointing to him,” I say. “He doesn’t even have an alibi! Please calm down and we can try to talk this out!”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” she screams. “You and the creep in the cloak have to be the killers! It’s you two! I know it!”

“But none of the evidence is pointing to that being the case,” Methuselah reminds.

“Then you missed something!” Erika demands loudly. “I want to go back! I want more time to investigate! This isn’t faaaaair!”

“Nope, no can do!” Monokuma says. “If you didn’t investigate enough, tough shit! I gave you all plenty of time!”

Erika screams angrily and tugs on her hair. “There is another answer! There has to be! You just won’t listen!”

“Erika, it has to be Damond!” I say desperately. “It’s the only answer!”

“I won’t let you do this!” Erika yells. “If you’re gonna accuse Damond, you’ll have to get through MEEEEEEE!”

It seems like Erika wasn’t going to listen to reason without a fight. If just have to do everything I could to get through to her so we could finally end this!

“Damond is the only—“

“ _You’re so stupid!_ ”

“—one of us—“

“ _It’s all wrong!_ ”

“—who would target—“

“ _There’s another answer!_ ”

“—Martha and Yavin!”

“Aaaagh! Why can’t you just listen to reason?!” Erika demands. “Nothing you’ve said even really points at Damond! There isn’t any evidence that points directly at him, just a bunch of stupid guesses!”

This was it! Time to end this! “That’s where you’re wrong!” I yell out suddenly, catching Erika off guard.

“I’m...I’m what...?” she asks softly.

“Erika, who brought a knife to the ritual?” I ask. She didn’t say anything. “Erika!”

“Damond,” she says. “It was Damond. But...that doesn’t mean anything!”

“What kind of knife was it?” I ask her.

She laughs nervously. “I don’t see what that has to do with it.”

“It was a bread knife, wasn’t it? From the bakery, right? None of the other knives in the building have been used. So I don’t see why other option besides one of the knives used to kill Martha,” I explain.

“But...that’s stupid!” she demands. “Just because he had a bread knife doesn’t mean—!” She stops herself and puts her hand over her mouth. Damond still had nothing to say.

“I’m going to go over this entire case. And that way, I’ll prove to you what the true answer is!” I say.

“The murder started with the ritual Erika, Victor, and the killer participated in. The killer left their important item in their room. Not because of the ritual, because because they didn’t want to endanger it with their plans. Erika, being the SHSL Occultist, most likely handled the majority of the work and had the other two do less important things. The killer got the knife they needed to draw blood. They selected a bread knife, knowing they would be able to use it again later. They perform the ritual with nothing happening, urging Victor to do things his way using science in the lab. They patched up their hands first, but the killer couldn’t risk the blood getting soaked up. So they had to wrap up their other hand. I walked in while they were doing this and got some more bandaging. Everyone was there and nothing seemed wrong. But me being here to see their hands would end up hurting the killer later. Victor’s experiments end up making a mess, which the killer quickly uses as an excuse to leave while Victor and Erika stay behind for a bit. The killer hurried uses their blood to make three notes all with the same message. One is left with Martha, who was in the cafeteria, one with Yavin in the theater, and one with the killer. Martha went to the bakery like she was supposed to. The killer met up with her there and used their note to trick her. Yavin saw his note after his act and ran off. Martha, tricked by the killer, acts Yavin with a cookie tray and knocks him out. He’s locked up to the cabinet...and that’s when he killer murders Martha with the bread knives. Yavin wakes up in time for his key to be tossed away. The bread was taken out of the bad and put aside. Then the bag is forced over his head and he’s suffocated. The killer was still dirty and that would look suspicious and then needed to clean up quickly. They used Yavin’s water tank to clean off, getting the water dirty and making a mess outside the tank. They quickly changed, dried off, grabbed the box, and waited for the bodies to be discovered,” I explain fully. “So...is there anything I got wrong, Damond?!”

“O-Of course there’s stuff that’s wrong!” Erika demands. “You’re just—“

“Stop it!” Damond says.

Erika looks at him, confused. “H-Huh..?”

“He’s right...” Damond says. “He got everything right. I killed them. It was all me.”

“Damond, you...you don’t have to tell them this stuff just because they’re getting to you,” she tells him.

“Erika, I’m telling the truth. It was all me,” he repeats.

Erika tears up. “Damond, this...this isn’t funny...”

“Dammit, Erika, would you just listen to me for once!” he snaps.

Erika finally shuts up, tears trickling down her cheeks silently.

“Martha...saw the demon. She saw him and...and I wasn’t going to do anything. I didn’t plan to at first. But she just couldn’t keep that fucking trap of hers shut. She went blabbing to Yavin right in front of me. I couldn’t let them tell everyone...” he says. “So...she had to die. And so did Yavin. I knew he’d point fingers at me if she died alone.”

“But why does it matter so much?” Methuselah asks.

“Because they would have taken the demon away from me!” Damond screams. “That’s what everyone tries to do! That’s why I call him a demon, you fools!”

“It’s...It’s not a demon..?” Erika asks him.

“Demon is just a title I use to ward off people,” he says. “No one would want a demon. So no one will want to take him from me. Hell, I started studying demonology just to keep the act up!”

There was silence from the crowd after that. Even Erika was quiet, her tears having stopped by now.

“I’d hate to interrupt the heartfelt moment,” Monokuma says. “Actually...no I don’t! It’s voting time! So let’s get under way! Who’s the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?!”

Everyone puts in their votes. “Oh, I just can’t wait! Let’s see the results!” Monokuma cheers.

A scoreboard appears with a picture for everyone, the faces crossed out for those who died. Nine votes appear next to Damond while only one was next to Erika.

“That’s right!” Monokuma cries out. “Damond Pitt, the SHSL Demonologist, is the killer!”

Damond sighs a tiny bit and closes his eyes. “I knew I wouldn’t get away with it. Ark is too strong a force...”

“Wait, what? What does that mean?” I ask. But Damond wasn’t listening to me anymore.

He walks over to Erika, gently placing the box into her hands. “Take good care of Fluffy for me while I’m gone...I promise to take him back some day.”

Erika looks at him and gently clutches the box to her chest, nodding silently.

Damond returns to his podium. “I guess...this is Farewell. For now. We’ll meet again in another life, everyone.”

“I think it’s best to focus on the here and now!” Monokuma declares. “Because it’s time we have it everything we’ve got! It’s PUNISHMENT TIIIIME!” He slams his mallet down on the button.

All of our podiums lock us in. The screens turn green with a happy Monokuma. But Damond’s flashes a deep red with an angry Monokuma.

The wheels on the podiums pop out and we all go flying across the room until two rows were made with Damond in the middle, facing the doors. His engine revs loudly and the doors open. He speeds off through the doors, soon disappearing into the darkness within. Then a video begins to play for us.

**Damond Pitt has been found guilty.**

**Commencing the punishment...**

Damond was standing in a small room with his box in his hands. It rumbles a bit and he holds it close as if to sooth it. There was only one way out of the room. Through a door in front of him.

He walks up to the door and tries it. It opens without a problem and he walks through, stepping into a hallway. The hall’s walls were covered with hands adorned with sharp claws and they all reached for Damond. On the other end of the hall he could see a bright light calling for him.

**Hands Off!**

Damond takes a deep breath and makes a quick run for the other side. The hands were quick to try to latch onto him, clawing and grabbing at him. They tore at his clothes and skin and pulled on his hair and yanked on his limbs. But it wasn’t Damond they were trying to grab.

It was his box.

Damond’s grip on his box grows tighter and he tries to force his way through the walls of hands faster. Their constant grabbing slowed him down greatly but he was making progress nonetheless.

Damond’s clothes are simply ribbon as he forces his way through the last of the onslaught and through the door with the shining light. He was dripping in blood from gashs and scratches. His hair was a mess and a chunk of it had been pulled out a while ago. But he was alive and his box was safe.

The room he stepped in was glowing, but not from a light. There was a large pentagram in the room that the light was coming from. And now that Damond had stumbled into it, he glowing turned blood red.

The box in Damond’s arms shakes wildly, forcing him to drop it. He takes a step back as the kid of he box flies off and something begins to pull itself out.

A massive, hulking figure slowly stretches out of the box. It was all black with red eyes, twisted fangs and two horns, claws hands, and massive wings folded against its back. And it’s eyes locked into Damond.

His eyes widen and he quickly turns and flees back through the hallway he came from. The hands retreated into the walls as he approached. Not because of Hm, but because he massive demon they tried to stop had come crashing through the wall and was right on Damond’s tail.

Damond gets to the end of the hall and tries to open the door, but finds it locked. He pulls and pushes on the door before resorting on banging on it and pleading for help. But none came.

A dark shadow looms over him and he slowly looks back. The creature was behind him. It lifts its hand up into the air. Damond got only a second to scream before the hand came slamming down on top of him, splattering him beneath it and leaving nothing but a smear behind.

I watched the entire thing in total silence. There wasn’t much to do or say about any of this. I felt a cold shiver travel down my spine now that it was over.

Through the silence, we heard a sound come from Erika and everyone looks up at her. She had pulled the lid off the box and looked inside. And now she was pulling out whatever was kept in there.

The thing that lived in the box was removed. We all stare in shock and Erika drops the box onto the floor. What she held in her hands was a cat, black as night with two bright yellow eyes. Its tail flickered lazily and it meows.

Erika was in stunned silence for a moment. Her eyes slowly got watery. She sinks down to her knees and holds the cat close to her. Tears begin to trickle down her cheeks.

Erika’s crying got heavier very quickly and in a matter of time, she was sobbing uncontrollably. A steady stream of tears washed over her face, making her sorrow shine in the light of the trial grounds.

“DAAAAAAMOOOOOOOND!”

Her pained wail echoed through the trial room and in our ears. Victor was the one to get Erika onto her feet and into the elevator. We all let the two of them go up alone before following.

Nothing was said on the way back up to the top. There wasn’t anything to say, anyway.

The elevator stops and everyone gets off as it opens. We all make our way to our rooms for the night.

I crawl into bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling. I kept my mind as blank as possible until I passed out. I had a restless, dreamless sleep that night.

**Chapter 3: Fear Nothing but Fear Itself - Completed!**

Ark, Ravenclaw, ~~Chrysta~~ , Jason, Allison, Erika, ~~Martha~~ , ~~Eddy~~ , Satoshi, Ishida, ~~Hiroshi~~ , Methuselah, ~~Yavin~~ , ~~Sukai~~ , ???, ~~Damond~~ , Victor


	25. Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Daily Life Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that took long enough! Sorry about the nearly 2 week hiatus, but I hit a massive burnout in my writing muse. But I’m back and ready for another chapter of mayhem!

**New Daily Life - Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid**

The morning announcement plays and wakes me up from my light sleep. I didn’t feel very well rested but I knew there were more important things to worry about today than whether or not I got a full eight hours.

I get myself out of bed and get ready for the day. I head out of the room and stop at the elevator. The next floor should be open and I decide to go check that out first. I get in and press the newly lit button, taking it down to the next floor.

The new floor looked like a hallway to a school. Fluorescent lights flickered above and there were lockers lining the halls. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. I decide to walk to the right until I found a room to enter.

The first room in the new area was a large library. There were tall bookshelves stuffed to the brim, some even overflowing with books. There was a section for newspapers and magazines. They seemed up-to-date, but only from the last date I could remember. The day before I woke up in this place.

The room also had some very soft and plush chairs and couches. There were a few tables as workstations. There were computers in the room, but with no internet connection to speak of, all we could do was use pre-installed apps.

Ishida and Methuselah were both here. Ishida had found some old looking scrolls he was reading. Methuselah was reading a novel next to him. Neither looked at me, too absorbed in their reading. I didn’t feel like bugging them and left.

The next room I entered was a nurse’s office. It was set up with far more medical supplies than the lab. An entire cabinet on the back wall was filled with medicines and different bandages and even supplies for stitching. There were a few comfy looking beds here as well with white bedding. They all had curtains you could use for privacy.

Jason and Allison were here right now. Allison’s hand was bleeding and Jason was hurriedly trying to patch it up. It sounded like he was crying and Allison was just trying to calm him down. I left.

The final door in the area led into a gym. It was large and tall. Basketball hoops hung in the air. There were bleachers here that were closed but I could open them with a switch. A door on the back of the room led to a storage closet. It was filled to the brim with sports equipment of every single kind. There were also mats for yoga here.

I went back upstairs after looking around to get some breakfast from the cafeteria. Ravenclaw and Sacri were both here, eating together. Ravenclaw has something other than pudding and Sacri had a bowl of cereal.

I was about to join them when Monokuma summoned everyone to the cafeteria. I sigh deeply and sit down without any food.

After some time, everyone but Erika had arrived. Monokuma shows up and looks around. “Hey! Someone’s gonna be late! You all know that’s against the rules!”

The doors open and close and we look over. It was Erika. Her hair was messy and in her face, hiding her eyes. Her cheeks looked wet. She was hugging herself.

Monokuma calms down instantly. “Ah, perfect! Now we can begin!”

“So what’s your stupid motive of the week this time?” Allison asks.

“Happy you asked!” Monokuma declares. “Because this week is all about secrets!”

“Isn’t that a bit unoriginal?” Satoshi asks. “Besides, someone already had their secret leaked! Haha!”

“Hm? Oh, you misunderstand! It’s not your secrets I’m revealing!” Monokuma clarifies.

“Wait then...wh-who’s is it..?” Ravenclaw asks nervously.

Monokuma grins. “It’ll be secrets kept from you. Isn’t that fun?!” Everyone was silent.

“Let's start with Ishida! Because this is some pretty juicy gossip!” he goes on.

“There’s nothing you can possibly say that I don’t know about yourself,” Ishida says confidently.

“Oh? So you’re aware you kill totally innocent people?” Monokuma asks. “Well, alright then.”

Ishida’s face falls into a frown. “What did you just say?”

Monokuma giggles. “Oh, Nothing you don’t already know apparently!”

“Answer my question or I’ll strike you down!” Ishida draws his sword.

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” Monokuma says. “Your entire clan is a lie! You get paid to protect corrupt politicians and criminals and gang leaders and all kinds of nasty people! In return, you murder those who stand in their way! Namely, innocent people trying to stop them. And you don’t even know it because your clan lies right to your face!”

Ishida seemed to only grow angrier as Monokuma went on. “You’re full of shit! That’s not true! My clan would never lie to me!”

“Your self-righteous attitude made it pretty easy to convince you to do stuff like that and never even realize it,” Monokuma goes on. “Man, I’m already bored of old news! Let's move on!”

“Haha! No!” Satoshi says, smiling.

“Well, since you volunteered so kindly, we’ll talk about your disappearing money!” Monokuma declares.

Satoshi’s smile falls. “What? How do you know about that? That’s private information!”

“Nothing’s private in the digital age!” Monokuma says happily. “I even know who’s taking it all! You should, too. But maybe you’re not as smart as you claim!”

“But there’s no way to know!” Satoshi says. “It must be a random hacker or a genius thief or...or...”

“Or someone who already knows how to get in,” Monokuma finishes.

Satoshi looks at him. “But...the only people who know are me and...my uncle...”

“Bingo! Right on the money!” Monokuma says. “Or what little is left.”

“That...That can’t be true...he knew what I was using that money for!” Satoshi yells. “He...He wouldn’t...”

“Are you sure?” Monokuma asks. “I don’t know. After all the borrowing and loaning, what other answer is there?’

“H-How do you kn-know all this stuff about u-us?” Ravenclaw asks.

“That’s a secret~!” Monokuma declares. Then he waddled off giggling.

Satoshi hurried out with tears in his eyes, cursing to himself. Ishida stops out, sword still drawn and looking ready to hurt someone. I decide to go after Satoshi since I didn’t want Ishida to slice my head off.

Satoshi had gone to his room. I tried the door and it opened without an issue. He must not have locked it. I walk inside.

Satoshi was sitting on her bed, arms wrapped around his legs and face hidden, tucked into his arms. I think he was crying.

I slowly shuffle over to him. He was different than someone like Sacri or Ravenclaw because he didn’t actually like me. But I was starting to become a personal therapist for everyone here and it’d be really awful of me to ignore Satoshi out of everyone left.

“Go away...” Satoshi murmurs softly.

“Do you want me to go away?” I ask him.

There was silence for a moment. Satoshi shakes his head. “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask.

“Money from my patents and inventions have been disappearing from my account for years,” Satoshi says quietly. “I was never able to figure out where it was all!going. Now I know my slimy uncle has been lining his pockets with it under my nose...”

“Wouldn’t the bank be able to tell you when the money goes missing?” I ask him.

“He must have taken control of the account,” Satoshi says. “He’s a genius like me.” Even in the midst If a breakdown, Satoshi still found the time to brag about himself. “He’s been taking care of me since my parents died. I never thought...” He trails off.

“What were you using that money for?” I ask. “Seemed important.”

“...my best friend,” Satoshi says after a moment. “I’d known her since we were born...and she got sick. And I promised to raise the money to help her. But...But it kept disappearing and before I could ever find the answer...she had died...”

He thought of Satoshi working so diligently for someone dear to Him was kind of sweet. But knowing that someone used him at the expense of another person’s life made me sick. “I’m sorry...that sounds awful,” I say.

Satoshi didn’t have much else to say on it. He uncurled himself from his spot on the bed and got up. He didn’t look at me. “I have an important project to work on...please leave...”

I nod quietly and walk out of the room. The door was shut and locked behind me by Satoshi. I probably wouldn’t see him for the rest of the day. I decide the best coarse of action would be to go spend my time with the others.

I had entered the nurse’s office and found Ravenclaw there. He was going through some of the bottles on the shelves and writing things down on a sheet of paper he had.

“What are you up to?” I ask him.

Ravenclaw jumps at the sound of my voice and spins around to face me. “D-Don’t sneak up on me like th-that!”

I rub the back of my head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

He huffs and folds up his paper, putting it into his pocket. “I was just seeing what I-kind of medicines and antibiotics they have st-stocked here...”

“Makes sense, I guess,” I say. “Afraid of getting sick?”

He nods quietly, now not having anything to say. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up. “Hey, you want me to help you?”

He looks over at me then back to the cabinet. “...yes p-please.”

I walk over and he pulls the paper out of his pocket again. I spend time going through the nurse’s office with Ravenclaw. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“Do you take medicine like this regularly?” I ask after we had finished going through everything.

“I g-get yearly vaccinations and I t-take a lot of vitamin p-pills,” he mumbles. “And then there’s the suit...”

I look him up and down again. “Right, your plague doctor outfit. Does that thing really keep you safe?”

He shrugs a bit. “It m-makes me feel better. And it’s easier t-to work with than a uh...hazmat suit or something...”

“What about that smell I always notice when you unzip it?” I ask. “Makes me think of scented candles.”

“A-Ah...lilacs and vanilla...” Ravenclaw murmur. “It’s my um...favorite scent. V-Very calming...”

It clearly wasn’t calming enough given his endlessly nervous and high-strung he was. But saying that wouldn’t help anything. “How did you get your hands on a suit like that anyway?”

“Um...g-garage sale, of all things...” he says. “I sent it through s-several intensive washes and then uh...well, I needed it tailored...because I’m tall.”

That certainly was the kind of origin story I’d have expected for something he wears daily. “Did the scythe come with it?”

“O-Oh! I got that at g-gardening store.” He takes the scythe off from his back and holds it, letting the light shine off the blade.

“What? You told me that was fake!” I demand.

He stiffens up. “A-Aah...I-I-I d-did...u-um...uh...well...” He left quickly, not giving me an explication.

Why the hell did he lie about something like that? My go-to answer would be he was scared of how I’d react...actually, yeah. That was undoubtedly the answer. I sigh and left.

I entered the library and saw Methuselah and Ishida. Ishida was still clearly fuming, stomping around in circles with his hands clenched tightly into fists.

Methuselah noticed me as I entered and pt down the book he was reading. He quickly walks over to me and begins to usher me out of the room forcefully.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” I ask. “Quit shoving!”

“You need to leave,” Methuselah says. “It’s best to let Ishida work out his anger on his own.”

“You don’t have to push me!” I demand. I was shoved out the door despite my protests.

“He might hurt you if he decides you’re a bother,” Merhduskh warns. “It’s really best you just give him time.”

“Well, what about you?” I ask. “What if he tries to hurt you?”

“I’ll be fine,” he assures. “I can handle myself.”

“I don’t know if it’s safe,” I say. “He could actually try to hurt you.”

“Are you suggesting I should do more training?” he asks me.

“Not with me!” I say quickly. Methuselah seems disappointed with that. “How about you go get some books and we can...do some reading together or something.”

He perks up a little. “Oh, Alright. That sounds nice.” Methuselah disappears into the library. He returns with a couple novels. The two of us sit down against the wall and he passes one to me.

I spend time reading books with Methuselah. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“Do you like why you do?” I ask after a bit.

Methuselah looks up from his book to stare at me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...killing people. Being an executioner. Do you enjoy it?” I ask.

“Well...I don’t particularly enjoy it, no,” he says. “Hiroshi usually has me kill people that I didn’t think did anything wrong.”

That wasn’t a good thing to start with “What kind of people?” I ask.

“Political enemies...revolutionists...anyone who tried to question his rule,” Methuselah says. “He’d always been so scared of losing his power that he took it anyone gat threatened it.”

The way Methuselah talked, it sounded like he didn’t enjoy doing it. “Then why didn’t you say something?”

“It’s not my place to speak out against him,” he says. “I’m a tool for his use. My job is to kill and I’m thankful that’s as bad as it gets. He’s done a lot for me he hasn’t had to. It was he least I could do...”

I wasn’t sure how truthful that was as a claim, but he sounded very sure of himself. I doubt he’d want to hear me talk about it though.

“You should probably go check on Ishida,” I say, getting up and handing him my book. “I’ll go ahead and get it if your hair. See you later.” I wave and walk off.

I walked into the fancy restaurant and noticed Allison was there was well. She was eating a large steak with a side of potatoes and a salad. It looked very expensive. It made me think of something only the high class would demand given how amazing it looked.

Allison looks up as I walked in and smiles warmly, “Ark! Come join me for dinner! The food here is amazing!”

I smile a tiny bit and walk over, taking a seat across from Allison. “They have all kinds of stuff here, huh?” I ask.

She smiles and nods. “Heck Yeah! I mean, look at this streak! It’s the size of my head!”

“I can help you eat that thing if you want,” I offer. “I don’t know if you’d be able to finish it.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Allison admits with some light laughter. “I’m getting full and I’ve barely put a dent into it.”

I grab some silverware for myself. “Well, lets see if the two of us can handle this thing.”

Allison grins wide and nods happily in excitement. I spend time eating food with Allison. The two of us grew a little closer today.

The two of us were sick and had only managed to get about halfway through the steak. We hadn’t even gotten started on the sides yet.

“Man...I thought places like this were supposed to serve small portions...” Allison groans.

“Looks like we get the opposite,” I complain. “Let’s just stop eating before we burst.”

She nods. “Agreed...Ugh...I haven’t felt sick like this for a while...”

“You’ve mentioned that you’ve gotten really sick before,” I comment after a moment of thought.

“Oh...Mm...Yeah, I have. I had cancer, actually,” she says.

My eyes widen. “What?! You did?! Oh my god!”

“I managed to beat it, don’t worry,” she says. “I’m fine now and I know I’ll be okay.” She brushed it off so seriously. Was she like this with everything?

“Allison, something like that is really serious,” I say. “It could come back. You’re really not concerned?”

“It’ll take a lot more than that to keep me down,” she says. “I’ve survived way worse stuff. Like this time I was in a plane crash.”

“Did anyone else die?” I ask her.

She quickly shakes her head. “Of course not. I woke up in an ambulance and my parents told me that everyone was okay. I got the worst of it. See, I was bleeding really bad. Paramedics said if they had been even a minute late I would have died.”

I’ve never met anyone who spoke about nearly dying so casually. It was like this was just some normal thing for her that was on par with stubbing her toe on a wall.

“Oh, and then there was the building collapse,” she comments off-handedly. “An earthquake took the whole thing down. I was under rubble for two days before someone found me. They had nearly given up, too!”

“Allison, are you really okay with all of this?” I ask. “It sounds so...traumatic. I can’t imagine anyone going through this and just not caring.”

“It’s not like anyone gets hurt,” she says. “It’s just me. And no matter how bad it gets, I turn out fine in the end. So what’s the big deal?”

Her logic seemed sane enough. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that the way we were discussing this was just wrong.

She got up from her seat and sighs. “I need to go lay down in my room. We’ll hang out more later! Bye!” Allison walked off.

I got left as well. It was getting late and I planned on heading to my room. But first, I stopped by Erika’s. I don’t think she’s left since the motive.

I knock on the door, hoping she’d answer. Instead, Victor filled the doorway as it was opened.

He looks at me and scowled. Behind him, I could see Erika curled up on her bed. She had her back facing the door and peeled over as it opened. But Victor quickly stepped in the way and we couldn’t see school other anymore.

“What the fuck do you want?” he asks me.

“I just came to check on Erika,” I say. “I’m worried about her.”

“Oh, bullshit!” Victor demands.

I frown. “What the hell do you mean by that? Erika’s my friend, of course I’m worried about her!”

Victor shoved me roughly, making me stumble back. “You’re the reason she’s like this right now!”

“What? How is this my fault?!” I demand. “It’s not my fault Damond died!”

“Yes, it fucking is!” Victor snaps. “You just had to open your big mouth during that damn trial and keep saying shit! And look where that got us!”

“Damond killed! It was all of us or him!” I snap. “What did you want me to do?!”

“Figure something out!” Victor yells. “You and your stupid hope shoulda been able to get an idea somehow!”

“What does that even mean?!” I yell. “Every time you guys talk about those trials, you always talk about me in such a weird way!”

“God, you’re such an idiot,” Victor grumbles. “Erika doesn’t want to talk to you and I don’t want to see your face. Now get the fuck it if here before I make you.” And with that, he slammed the door shut.

I stood in the hallway in silence, slowly waiting for my anger to subside. It only left me with exhaustion. What was any of that stuff he was talking about? Me and my hope? Was it some weird Hope’s Peak thing? Was it a Killing game thing? I should have paid more attention in class.

I trudge off to my room in time for the nighttime announcement to tell me what my body already said. Sleep.

I get into my room and crawl into bed. I felt so tired after the motive and gay argument with Victor. Hopefully I would feel better after a long night’s rest. I pass out in bed, managing to sleep well through the night.


	26. Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Daily Life Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings in the bottom!
> 
> Also, expect slower updates from me. Going through a bit of a burnout.

I wake up the next day to the morning announcement. It was back to the usual routine of feeling exhausted and getting myself ready for another day in this hellhole. I hated this the more I had to do it but Monokuma’s dumb rules made it impossible to hide in my room all day.

Once I was ready for the day, I left my room and went toward he cafeteria. On the way, I stop in front to Erika’s room and it my ear to the door. I didn’t hear Victor so I knocked.

“Come in...” came Erika’s voice in a barely audible whisper. I open the door, finding it wasn’t locked, and walk in.

Erika was on her bed, still curled up and still facing her back to me. I saw the cat’s head pop up from behind Erika as I entered. She peeled back a bit as well before looking away again. “Hi, Ark...”

I shut the door behind myself and walk over. I sit down gently on the edge of the bed. The cat climbs over Wrika to walk over to me and sniff my hand. Erika looks at us. “Fluffy likes you...”

I look at the cat. That’s right, Erika had names it Fluffy. I could only think of Damond and the way he died when I saw the cat. And then I thought about Erika’s wailing in the trial room. There was a tight feeling in my chest with that thought.

“Are you going to be okay, Erika?” I ask finally.

There’s a small sniffle from her and I could see her start fighting back tears. “I don’t know...” I could hear the urge to sob building in her voice.

I frown a tiny bit. Erika, through it all, never let anything dampen her mood. She was always energetic and bubbly and excitable. I think Damond’s death has suddenly dropped the weight of the entire game on her shoulders and it was all coming out at once.

“Victor has been trying to cheer me up, but he’s so angry now,” Erika says. “People keep coming to check on me and he just keeps scaring them away...he’s scaring me, Ark...I don’t know what to do...”

I hadn’t thought Victor of all people would be affected by Damond’s death. Maybe he was angry Erika was upset. Or maybe he was sad Damond was gone. I wasn’t sure. “You need to try to talk to him,” I say. “I think you’re the only one he’ll listen to.”

Erika was quiet but nods softly. The motive announcement plays. “We should go,” I say. “Come on.” I offer my hand. Erika stares at it for a second before slowly sitting up and taking it. I stand and help her to her feet and the two of us leave her room, heading for the cafeteria.

Me and Erika had been the only people absent from the cafeteria. Victor must have been here getting breakfast for her and himself because he had two plates of food. He got in between me and Erika once we had entered. Monokuma was already here and had been waiting for the two of us.

“I see the two of you finally decided to join the class!” Monokuma says. “Excellent! You’ll want to be here when I crush the nameless freak’s heart!”

“What is that supposed to mean exactly?” Sacri asks. “You have already exposed me of my blasphemy and made my life pointless. What else can you possibly do to upset me?”

“We can talk about how your crazy cult is a bunch of psycho murderers!” Monokuma declares.

Sacri sighs, sounded more exhausted than anything. “I already know of the other sacrifices. I don’t see what your point is.”

“Who said I was talking about the sacrifices?” Monokuma asks darkly.

Sacri frowns a bit under their cloak hood. “Then what can you be talking about..? You can’t possibly be insinuating that the brethren have—“

“Killed totally innocent people in cold blood?” Monokuma asks. “Because that’s exactly what they did. Lots of people have tried to interfere with your sacrifice, haven’t they?”

Sacri starts to look very worried. “Well...yes, but I don’t see what—“

“And have you ever seen those people again? Ever have them carry out their promises to rescue you? Have the police even visited once?” Monokuma goes on.

“This...This can’t possibly be the answer,” they say weakly.

“And lets not forget the brethren that reject the religion,” Monokuma says. “How many of your brethren have gone missing? Hm? How many simply disappeared one day after acting a little odd?”

“I...I-I...” Sacri didn’t seem to know what to say. Hey look back at the rest of us, clearly panicked. “I-I assure everyone none of this was to my approval!”

“Well, duh!” Victor says. “I mean, you’d have to be an idiot to think we know about the shit with a motive about this.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true!” Monokuma says. “After all, only half of you knows about this one, Victor!”

Victor frowns a tiny bit. “What?”

Monokuma smiles wider. I didn’t like it. “Well, it’s just...your other side likes to try to sabotage your expedients!”

Victor starts laughing. “Please! I know that already! Try a little harder next time!”

“Gladly!” Monokuma says. “Because he’s been trying to kill you for years now with those sabotages! He’s just not nearly as smart as you.”

Victor’s laughter cuts off. “...oh.” He has a blank look on his face. I don’t think he knew how to process this information. Erika, on the other hand, was looking panicked. She grabbed his hand tightly and dragged him out of the room without a word to anyone.

I wasn’t really sure how to process most of that information. It didn’t seem like anyone was upset with Sacri this time, so they were most likely going to be okay. And I think Erika was going to handle Victor.

Monokuma left the room, snickering to himself. He was enjoying this too much. I hated him for that.

Everyone trickled out of the room eventually. Sigh a tiny bit and leave as well. I might as well just go hang out with the others for a bit. 

I enter the candy store and saw Sacri there. They were restocking their candy supply at the moment. After losing their title of sacrifice, this is probably the only thing that made them happy.

I walk over to them. They see me and smile, holding out a bag to me. “Hello, dear friend! Have a candy bag!”

I smile a tiny bit and take the bag from them. “Thanks, Sacri...Hey, are you feeling alright?”

They hesitate before smiling weakly. “I’m fine. Yes, I’m very fine. Absolutely fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“...Sacri, don’t lie to me,” I say.

They frown and look away. “My entire life has been a lie, Ark. I don’t know what you want me to say. I exist for no reason and the people that took care of me were selfish monsters. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“...let’s just go relax and eat some candy, okay?”

Sacri nods gently and the two of us go to their room. I spent time eating sweets with Sacri. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“So I don’t imagine you’ll be going back to your home once this ends, right?” I ask after some time.

“Ah...yes, that would be true. I can’t go back there. Not anymore...” They sigh sadly.

“If we both survive, I can let you come crash at me place.”

They look a bit surprised. “You...You would do something like that for me?”

I smile softly. “Of course I would, dummy. We’re friends.”

They smile a tiny bit. “Yes...I suppose we are friends, hm? We...are friends. You are my friend. I have a friend.” It sounded like they really enjoyed that word. “But would your family be okay with such a thing?”

“My sister is pretty cool about a lot of stuff and I don’t think my parents would mind much,” I assure them. “I’m sure they’d let you crash on the couch for a while.”

“Once I am done at Hope’s Peak...I will be taking up that offer,” they tell me. “Thank you.”

I smile. “No problem, Sacri. It’s the least I could do.” I stand up. “I think I’m going to go for a bit. We’ll hang out later, okay?”

Sacri smiles and nods. “Yes, of course! Later!”

I wave to them and leave their room. They seemed to be in a far better mood than they had been. I guess I was pretty happy to help them.

I went into the game room and saw Satoshi there. He wasn’t playing anything at the moment. He was lazily shuffling a deck of playing cards without actually doing anything with them.

I walk over and take a seat near Satoshi. He continued shuffling the cards, not saying anything to me. He must still be bummed out. Maybe I should ask him if he wants to do something.

“No,” Satoshi says before I could get any words out.

“I didn’t even say anything!” I demand.

“You were about to. And the answer is no,” he says. I’m really not in the mood.”

Satoshi must still be upset after what happened yesterday. I wasn’t really sure what to do about it or if there even was anything I could do. After learning what I did, I understood just how devastated he could be. He’d lost that energy he used to always have. He hasn’t even insulted me once yet!

“I think taking your mind off stuff would really help. Come on, I’ll go easy on you.”

Satoshi was quiet for a moment before sighing deeply. “You’re not going to go away until I agree, are you?’

I shrug. “Probably not.”

He gets up. “Alright, fine. One game.”

I stand up as well and He two of us walk over to an arcade machine. I spend time cheering Satoshi up with video games. The two of us grew a little closer today.

One game turned into several after I had beaten Satoshi the very first time. He suddenly became much more attentive and focused on the game, wiping the floor with me round after round.

I look at Satoshi. He grinned. It felt like he got his energy back finally, at least for the time being.

“Haha! I told you that first one was a fluke! I’d never fairly lose to someone so average!”

I smile thinly and look at him. “Yeah, I figured...”

“I am a master at video games, after all! It’s where all my inspiration comes from!”

Why did I want this Satoshi back? All he was was a self-centered jackass with no filter. But...he did seem happier now and he wasn’t just moping around.

“So where you a gamer before you were an inventor?” I ask him.

“Technically, yes! But I think inventing is my true calling! After all, I’m an absolute genius in every sense of the word!”

And there was the bragging. Seems like Satoshi was definitely back now.

“With my skill and intellect, I could create just about anything with the proper supplies!” he goes on.

“It must cost a lot of money to make stuff like that,” I say. “How do you mass produce it the way you do?”

“Well! I sell my ideas and prototypes to a company! I get a slice of cash for what’s sold and they get the other cut!” He grins wide.

Satoshi beats me again at the game and laughs. I think that was enough suffocating arrogance I could handle for a day. At least Satoshi felt better. I wave and left, letting him play by himself.

I entered the library to see if I could wind down with a book or something. Ishida seems to have had the same idea, because he was here as well, reading over an old looking tome.

I look around the room until I found a book written on the killing games. There wasn’t actually a chapter for the latest one that happened, but it looked like someone had added one in by hand.

I sit down next to Ishida. He glances at the book I had. “Finally deciding it’s a good idea to read up on them, hm?”

I sigh. “Yeah, I have. I can at least find the pleasure of calling out Monokuma for being unoriginal if he copies anything.”

Ishida cracks and smile and looks back down at his tome. “I don’t know. I heard the last Killing game was nothing more than homage to the ones from the further past.”

I shrug a bit and start reading. “Guess I’ll find out.” I had never been one to excessively study, so I wouldn’t know most of the information in this book; even what I should know. But I think the special circumstances here are a good exception.

“I’m sure I can help you focus on only the useful information. I’ve read through that book already,” Ishida points out.

I look at him. “Oh. Well...yeah, I guess that can’t hurt.” I set the book down and open it up. I spend time reading with Ishida. The two of us grew a little closer today.

Ishida has been helpful in giving me all the important information. He seemed to know what he was talking about.

“Did the clan teach you all that stuff?” I ask him.

“Ah...yes, they did,” he replies. “They were very particular when it came to my education.”

“So they took good care of you.”

“I thought they did. But as it appears, I was simply meant as something to kill who they wanted for the wrong reasons.”

“I don’t think there’s a good reason to kill someone, Ishida...”

“Sometimes there is no reasoning with people. They are dangerous and ready to attack or harm whoever they must. You have to be ready to strike back.”

I guess there was a grey area when it came to stuff like self defense. But based on what I know now about Ishida’s clan, self defense and just murdering people has blurred together due to his blind trust in them.

“Were you born to your clan?” I ask him. “Like, have they always raised you?”

“Born? No, I was adopted as a baby. The clan is fully male and as far as I’m aware, most of them do not have spouses. But I never paid much attention to something like that. They have trained me since I was a child but it was Sensei that trained me to fight.”

“You call him Sensei?”

“We all do. He is the oldest member of the clan and taught everyone there.”

That did make some sense. And I honestly didn’t know enough about samurai to wonder if I should question it at all.

I get up, shutting the book and putting it back. I wave to Ishida and head to my room for the night.

I get to my room in time for the nighttime announcement to play. I was going to get into bed when someone knocked on my door. I go answer it, seeing Erika there with a frying pan in her hands.

“...what do you need?” I ask. “It’s a little late for cooking. The cafeteria is closed.”

“I need you to hit Victor in the head,” she says.

“...excuse me?”

“I said I need you to hit his head.”

I was quiet for s moment, just staring at her. “Goodnight, Erika.” I try to shut the door but she sticks her foot in the way.

I look at her and open the door again. “You’re not going to go away until I agree, are you?”

She nods quietly, holding out the frying pan.

I sigh deeply and push it away. “Erika, I don’t want to get involved in all this.”

“Ark, please! Victor doesn’t want to do it himself and I don’t know if I can do it in the first hit! No one else wants to help!” she demands.

“Why?” I ask.

“I don’t think they like us...”

I sigh deeply. “Fine, give me the pan.” I take it from her.

She grins widely and drags me off.

Victor was in the lab, working on something, back turned to us. Erika gestures for me to be quiet as I sneak up on him quietly.

Victor turned around just in time for me to swing the pan and hit him in the side of the head. He drops the floor like a sack of rocks.

The frying pan drops from my hands. “Oh god, I think I killed him...”

Victor groans weakly and I sigh in relief. At least he wasn’t dead. Erika quickly gets him back into his feet.

He looks at her than to me, rubbing his head. “Ark? Erika? What are you two doing here? What’s going on? Where’s Damond?”

“Victor, is it true you’re trying to get yourself killed,” Erika says abruptly.

Victor frowns and looks down at her. “What? Who told you that?!”

“It...It was Monokuma during the motive,” she says softly. “He said you try to kill yourself but...but that’s crazy, isn’t it?”

Victor quietly looks away from her, not saying anything.

“...Victor..?” she asks quietly.

“...you have to understand where I’m coming from,” he finally say. “The other me is...a bad person. He only cares about himself and he hurts other people.”

“You’re wrong!” Erika demands. “He cares about me and he cared about Damond! He’s done nothing but try to cheer me up ever since Damond died!”

Victor’s eyes widen. “Damond is dead..?”

“Yes and I’m not losing you, too!” Erika grips onto his labcoat tightly. “You’re all I have and I don’t want you to die for doing something stupid!”

Victor was silent for a long while before gently patting Erika’s head. “If he’s as nice to you as you say he is...then maybe there’s is hope for him. I don’t think I want to die in this place anyway.”

The reassurance seems to put Erika at ease. She hugs him tightly.

I felt like a third wheel watching this go down. Not to mention I was still reeling for thinking I murdered Victor.

Victor looks at me and frowns softly. “...Ark, what’s with the frying pan? Why is it dented?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Erika looks at me and mouths ‘sorry’.

“I uh...it was Erika’s idea.” And I quickly ran out of the room after that.

I return to my room and collapse into bed. Hat was emotionally exhausting and I wasn’t even part of the conversation. Still, it was nice seeing Erika and Victor help each other the way they were.

I manage to fall asleep, having a good rest finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talking about attempted suicide.


	27. Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Daily Life Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning below!

Once the morning announcement played, I got out of bed. I finally felt well rested today. Yesterday really hadn’t been as awful as it could be. Which only made me wonder what kind of crap Monokuma was going to pull today. I sigh and get ready for the day before leaving my room.

I join the others in the cafeteria as usual. I sit with my usual group, Ravenclaw, Sacri, Jason, and Allison, although she wasn’t always around. I didn’t get any breakfast. I was just waiting for Monokuma to get today’s motive over with.

I glance around. Both Erika and Victor were or here today instead of running late. The two of them were eating some eggs Victor most likely had made.

I sigh softly and close my eyes, thinking. Tensions seemed lax for now, but once the bear entered, it would all go down hill.

Monokuma came in soon enough. I think he was just waiting for us all to get to the cafeteria by this point. He had that usual smug grin and gleam of mischief in his red eye.

“Is everyone ready for more excitement?” Monokuma asks. “Because I know I am!”

“Shut up and get it over with,” Satoshi says. “We’re getting sick of you.”

“Gladly! Let's start the big fuzzy mask boy! I’m sure Jason will love this talk!” Monokuma says.

Jason shrinks back in his seat nervously and gently drums his fingers together.

“See, Jason cares a lot about his parents. I’m sure you all know about his dad, but has he ever mentioned his mom to you?” Monokuma asks.

“ _There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s just sick. That’s all it is so shut up_ ,” Jason writes.

“That’s what your dad told you, right? Monokuma asks. “That your mom was just sick so that’s why she stayed at the hospital?”

“Monokuma, leave him alone,” Allison says. “He didn’t do anything to deserve this!”

“Your mother isn’t sick,” Monokuma says. “She died that day and your dad has been using it as an excuse to abuse you as harshly as he does!”

Everyone was completely silent. I don’t think any of us were sure what to think about that information.

“ _You’re lying_ ,” Jason writes. I couldn’t see his face, but he had a very sullen attitude about him. I’ve never seen him like that.

“Jason, I don’t know if it’s a lie,” Satoshi says. “Everything else...it’s been too plausible to be true.”

“And some of them have been true,” Victor adds softly.

Jason’s hands slam onto the table and he stands up, drawing everyone’s attention. “He’s.....LYING!” Jason’s voice came out in a sudden below of rage, one that takes everyone in the room aback, including Monokuma.

Allison quickly gets up and tries to get Jason to sit back down and relax. “Jason, relax, please! It’s okay!”

“That’s what everyone tells you, right, Allison?” Monokuma asks. “That it’s okay and you can relax?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says sternly, focusing on Jason still and not facing the bear.

“I’m talking about the lies your parents have been feeding you for years.”

That catches her attention. She looks toward him hesitantly. “What...What lies..?”

“You really think after all those disasters, you’re the only one that gets hurt? That the people around you don’t end up caught in the blast, so to speak?”

“I...I don’t know what you’re saying. Come on, Jason. Let’s get you to your room.” Allison hurriedly tries to get Jason to leave the room, but his anger was moving onto confusion now.

“You can’t run from the truth forever!” Monokuma calls out. “You can’t ignore the pile of dead bodies that follow your wake!”

Allison left the room, dragging Jason along with her. Monokuma snickers softly and leaves as well.

The room was quiet now that Jason and Allison were gone. I wasn’t sure how to process the new information we were given.

Everyone looks at me while I was trying to think. “...what?” I ask.

“Aren’t you going to go make sure they're okay?” Ishida asks.

“Are you guys just expecting me to at this point?”

“You did for everyone else,” Methuselah responds.

Alright, they had a point. I sigh and get up. “Yeah, Alright, I’ll go do that.” I leave the room and head to the dorms. Both of them were in Jason’s room.

I walk in, the door having been unlocked. Jason was curled up on his bed, his mask sitting on the floor and his head in Allison’s lap. Allison was gently messing with his hair, her eyes distant.

“Hey there, guys...” I say softly. Neither respond to me. I walk over and sit down on the foot of the bed.

“Jason, was it your dad that did that to you?” I ask him after a moment, talking about the injuries to his face.

“I did bad......was bad boy......got punished......” His voice was raspy and quiet, like he almost never spoke.

“Your dad is a bastard,” Allison says harshly. “You didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

Jason flinched a bit at the words and curled up a little more.

I look at Allison. Her sling was sitting on the bed next to her. This was the first time I’ve seen her without it. “Why aren’t you wearing your sling? You always wear it.”

“I don’t deserve to wear it...”

I wasn’t really sure how to handle this. Jason’s issues were deep rooted abuse and basically brainwashing on his dad’s part. And Allison was being hit with extreme survivor’s guilt.

“Will you two be okay if I leave you alone?” I ask them.

Allison looks down at Jason then off into space. “Dunno.”

I sigh and sit down next to Allison, leaning against the headboard of Jason’s bed. Jason shifted so he was laying down in both of our laps. It was like having a dog around, but heavier and a little more sad to watch. Was this just more stuff pushed on him by his dad?

Allison crosses her arms and looks away from us both, staring at the wall intently. “My parents have been hiding something like this from me for so long...why? Why would they do that..?”

“I think this is why. They just wanted to protect you,” I say. She didn’t respond to that.

Jason sits up finally and hugs both of us tightly. His sweater was extremely soft and warm. It made me relax despite how uncomfortably tight his grip was.

“My friends...shouldn’t be sad...” he mumbles. “Monokuma’s a liar...”

“I really don’t think he is,” I say hesitantly.

Jason’s grip tightness around me, starting to joke me. “He’s...a...liar...”

I gasp breathlessly and squirm until he released me entirely from his grip.

Allison gently pushes away from him and gets out of bed. “I think I need to be alone for a while...” And she left the room without much else to say.

Jason watches her go worriedly. I hesitantly pat his back but was afraid to say anything after he essentially threatened me.

Jason reaches for his mask but I grab his hand. “You don’t have to wear it,” I tell him.

He frowns nervously, glancing at it then back to me. “B-But...But the rules!”

“You don’t need to be scared of that right now,” I say. “Your dad isn’t here. What he does to you can’t happen here.”

Jason looks at me fearfully yet doesn’t grab his mask. He hugs me again, gentler now, crying quietly. I hesitantly pat his back and let him take his time.

Jason eventually let me go and I got up. “I’m going to go,” I tell him. “You’ll be fine, right?”

Jason nods and sniffles. He picks up his mask and puts it away. I leave the room.

I went to the lab when I heard something explode. Victor was there, groaning on the floor. Smoke was pouring out of a container and it smelled like burnt hair.

I walk over and help Victor back into his feet. “Are you alright Uh...whichever Victor you are?”

“I’m okay, I think. I have no idea what I was doing...oh! You shouldn’t stand so close to those fumes!”

Well, it seems like this was the nicer Victor. I move away and Victor quickly handles the mess he made, putting out the smoke and getting rid of the chemicals. There was still a bit of a mess, though.

“I can help you clean that up,” I offer.

“Oh, you really don’t have to,” Victor assures. “I can handle this myself.”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind helping.” I walk over to assist him.

Victor sighs. “If you’re absolutely sure...then I guess help would be appreciated.”

I smile and Victor smiles back. I spend time cleaning up with Victor. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“So what’s it like when you’re uh...not in control?” I ask.

“Everyone always asks that,” he says exhaustively. “It’s like being unconscious. That’s the best way to describe it.”

“So you don’t, like, sleep or something?”

He shakes his head. “No. We black out when we aren’t in control and come to again once we are. It could take days or weeks for us to switch under normal situations, but it only feels like blinking for us.”

That sounded...kind of awful. Having unknown chunks of time lost to you because some stranger is using your body. “Have you two tried communicating at all?” I ask.

“Mm...there were some attempts within the first year or so. We’d leave notes or messages and try talking. There was one time we tried talking to each other by knocking ourselves out. But...we found it jumbled both of our minds and left us with severe headaches. We haven’t tried it since.”

“Is that why you guys got so freaked out hythe constsnt switching? Because it messes with your heads?”

He nods. “That’s right. It’s a truly frightening experience I can’t begin to accurately describe in the correct magnitude.”

“Sounds intense.”

“Very.”

I felt like I might be asking a bit too much at the moment. “Well...I think we’re done cleaning everything up now. I’ll go ahead and leave it to you. Bye, Victor.” I wave and leave the room.

I went into the dining hall and noticed Jason was there, picking at a plate of food he must have made for himself. I walk over and sit down in front of him. He still wasn’t wearing his mask, so I could clearly see he was upset.

He looks at me as I sat down and quickly pushes the plate to me. “Here...Sorry...”

“Sorry about what?” I look at the plate. I wasn’t too particularly hungry and it was his food anyway. I push it back to him.

“Sorry...your food...should have made more...” He pushes it toward me again.

“Jason, I really don’t want it. You made itfor yourself. You take it.” I push the plate back to him.

Jason whines and quickly pushes the plate to me again.

I sigh deeply. I wasn’t leaving until Jason ate his food, though. I spend time pushing a plate around with Jason. The two of us grew a little closer today.

Jason eventually relented after about the twentieth time we had the same argument. He starts picking at his plate, but taking a few small bites. He kept glancing at me nervously while he ate, as if expecting me to do something to him for eating it.

“..Jason, are you not allowed to have food for yourself at your house?” I ask after a moment.

Jason quietly chews on a carrot, his eyes avoiding mine. “Not like that.....just have to....make more for others.....”

“You mean your dad, right?”

Jason gets a little fidgety. “Maybe...”

“He really shouldn’t be treating you like that. No one here would ever act like that to you. We aren’t your dad.”

Jason whimpers softly and stares at the floor. “I’m a bad boy......I break the rules....I get in trouble.....I’m a mutt.....”

“Don’t say stuff like that about yourself. How would Allison feel if she heard that?”

“She’s be upset......because I was stupid.....”

“She’d be upset because she was worried about you. And I’m worried about you, too. We all are. You don’t need to talk about yourself like that. We’re all friends here, right?”

“I guess so...but...Mm...” Jason didn’t seem to know how to articulate himself here.

“Just...go a bit easier on yourself. For all of us. Okay?” I ask.

Jason was quiet as he nodded. I smile to him and he cracks a small one in return. I get up and let him eat his food in peace now.

I was going past the nurse’s office when Fluffy darted last me. I look as he ran off and then around only to have Erika crash into me and send both of us falling to the floor.

I groan softly on my back. “Erika..? What the hell..?”

She quickly scrambled off of me and pulls me back onto my feet. “Ah, Sorry! I’m just trying to catch Fluffy! He ran away from me!”

I dust myself off a little. My back was sore but if he Fine. “Oh, is that why he went running off down the hall?”

Erika nods quickly. “Yeah! Can you help me catch him?”

“I guess it won’t hurt,” I say. “You go one way and I’ll go the other. The hallway is a circle, how hard can this be?”

Erika smiles and hurried off the way she was going. I head the way she came from. I spend time helping Erika catch Fluffy. The two of us grew a little closer today.

The cat had been surprisingly difficult to get, by Erika eventually managed to catch him while he was trying to bite my arm.

“What did you even do to upset him so much?” I ask her.

“Mm...I wanted some of his fur to try and uh...contact Damond. But he got scared when I got close with scissors and ran off!”

“Maybe don’t get close to him with sharp stuff like that again,” I say.

Erika pouts. “But I needed it!”

“Should you really be trying to uh...contact the dead anyway? Doesn’t that put them at unrest?” It’s not like I believed any of that ghost stuff or anything...but I still didn’t want to risk getting haunted on top of all the murder stuff because Erika just couldn’t help herself.

She puffs out her cheeks. “Maybe a little...”

“I know it must be hard with him gone after being so close, but the best thing to do is to try to move on.”

“Well, it was worth a shot...”

I pat her head and she huffs. She had a dark blush on her face. I think she was embarrassed.

“I bet all this occult stuff can be pretty useful sometimes,” I say.

She crosses her arms. “Yeah, it can be. I know all kinds of stuff about curses and spirits. I know how to watch out for bad omens and ward off evil spirits!”

“Got any protection spells you can use on me?”

“Sure. 3000 yen please!”

“What?! That’s a rip off!”

“Do you want protection from bad spirits or not?”

“Not a price like that! You’re crazy if I’m giving you that much!”

“Cheapskate!” She sticks her tongue out and storms off.

I guess that’s how she became a SHSL. But seriously, did she have to charge so much?! Those prices were insane for spirit cleansing! She wasn’t even an exorcist or medium or anything!

I sigh deeply and trudge my way to my room.

Today had been a very long day. I was exhausted. I kick off my shoes and collapse into bed. So soft and comfortable. It was so...nice...

I sleep well that night out of pure exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of abuse


	28. Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Killing Life Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings at bottom!

Once the morning announcement played, I got it of bed and got ready for the day. There weren’t many of us left with secrets to be revealed to us. I was starting to feel confident we could get through this one. He’d have to run out of stuff to say eventually, wouldn’t he?

If we could get through this motive shout murder, maybe this awful cycle could reach an end.

Once I was dressed and ready for the day, I left my room and went to the cafeteria.

I entered the cafeteria to find Monokuma was already there, standing on top of a table. The others were waiting in front of him uncomfortably.

I join the small group—a thought I realized wasn’t a comforting one—and look at the bear. “What’s going on?” I ask Ravenclaw quietly.

“The...Th-The bear said that he want t-to do something new today...something about his uh...own secret.”

That sounded like anything but good.

“I’m sure you’ve all got a lot of questions you want answered,” Monokuma says, beginning to pace up and down the table. It seems I had been the last person being waited for. “Who’s behind this? Why do this? What’s my lottery number? Well, those are all stupid questions I’m not wasting my time on!”

“The only time being wasted is ours,” Ishida says.

“Which is why I’m moving on to what I really want to say!” the bear snaps. “I’ve decided it would be oh so fun if I revealed a secret being kept from the entire group first. And it’s a nice build up to the second secret~!”

The second secret? What did that mean?

“So, I guess there’s no gentle way to put this. Oh, who am I kidding? Knee-jerk reactions are what I live for! The entire world has been utterly decimated in nuclear warfare and you kids are the sole survivors!”

There was complete silence from the crowd. I felt my own mind blanking at the suddenness of such a bold claim. The entire world? Nuclear warfare? Sole survivors? These are all such harsh, heavy phrases that had no place being strung together in one sentence.

“Are you just expecting us to believe that?” Victor says, finally breaking the silence.

“But...everything he’s said so far seems true,” Allison says softly.

“Yeah, but this? It’s utterly insane!”

“I have to agree with Victor,” Sacri chimes in. “All-out nuclear warfare is quite a stretch on the imagination.”

“You want context?” Monokuma asks. “Alrighty then! The short and sweet of it is that we had another uprising of despair! The shitty state of the world and the content overbearing feelings of dread has caused the world the nosedive right into another wave of total despair!”

What he said made...some kind of sense. The world really hasn’t been going well as of now. There have been a lot of economic problems, job market inflation, homelessness and poverty, crimes are on the rise. and there are building tensions between countries. But...a nuclear war that ended the world? Sure, things weren’t great, but that’s just how the world works. Surely it wouldn’t have gone this far.

“Everything that led up to the end of the world can be considered the Tragedy 2.0!” Monokuma goes on. “Although is recording history in such an impossibly small minority really necessary? Hard to say!”

“Tragedy...2.0..?” I ask softly. “That...can’t be right!”

“It’s right as acid rain!” Monokuma says. “Because there’s a lot of that now.”

“How are we alive?!” Satoshi demands. “Building an entire facility like this to stand up against nuclear radiation is can’t possibly be feasible!”

“You’re so doubtful,” Monokuma complains. “Are you telling me that Hope’s Peak Academy can’t build a facility like this with enough time? Come on! There’s an Inventor and a Mad Scientist in this class alone! You honestly believe Hope’s Peak can’t round up some ex-SHSL and build this place?”

The more Monokuma talked and explained, the more it just felt...plausible. I still wasn’t sure if what he was saying was complete truth, but the mere thought of it was sounding more and more like the truth. And as I thought about it, a question began to itch in the back of my mind.

“Why am I here?” I ask. “I’m not a SHSL like the others. I’m not even a Hope’s Peak student. So...why me?! Why would I get picked above the rest of the world?! What makes me so special?!”

“Absolutely, positively nothing!” Monokuma says in a cheery voice. “That’s what I was gonna talk about next! The reason you’re here and alive despite anyone else in existence...is by complete and utter accident!”

“A...Accident..?” I say weakly. I felt my body begin to shudder. That...That can’t be right. I can’t be one of the sole survivors of the world by total accident!

“But he has a room set up and everything,” Sacri points out. “How was this an accident?”

“Well, that’s simple! Hope’s Peak has decided to hold a raffle where one Reserve Course student could win a spot in the high life by not being evaporated by the oncoming nukes! And while Ark himself might not be a part of the school, his dear sister was!”

“So Ark’s sister...won the raffle?” Jason asks.

“That’s right! She went right home and, after a tearful goodbye to her entire family, she stuffed the ticket into Ark’s hand and told him to take her place! It was pretty easy since all those normal students look the same to the people that work at the school anyway.”

That...That couldn’t be right. My sister couldn’t be dead. That wasn’t true! It can’t be true!

“Ark, wouldn’t your sister do something like that for you?” Monokuma asks, as if sensing my doubt in his word.

“We aren’t even actually related!” I demand. “I was adopted from America!”

“But she consisted you like her own flesh and blood brother, did she?”

I was silent. She always told me I was as good of a brother as she could get. I was family, even if I always doubted it myself.

“So...that’s it then?” Allison asks. “The world is over? Then...Then what was the point of everything we did here?!”

“So many people died here...and we can’t even leave...” Erika murmurs.

“But...But that means no one else is gonna did, right?” I ask. No one answered me.

“Well, I think I’ve destroyed enough dreams for today!” Monokuma says. “See ya later!” He leaves the room.

We were all left alone to wallow in our dread and hopelessness. Eventually, the group slowly trickles out of the cafeteria to either go sit in their rooms and think or try to distract themselves from the new information. I chose the former.

Entering my room, I sit down on my bed and stare at the floor in complete silence for a very long while. A couple hours at least. My mind kept going blank whenever I tried to think of anything. It was like I was refusing to give myself a chance to absorb the information we were just presented with, but instead of doing anything to distract myself from it, I was stuck in a perpetual state of nothing.

I decide the best course of action would be to get some sleep and try to handle this tomorrow when we all inevitably gather in the cafeteria for breakfasts. Deciding I wouldn’t be able to get much sleep on my own, I leave to get some sleeping medication.

I went down to the fourth floor to get myself something from the nurse’s office. On my way there, I notice Allison entering the gym. I knew this entire thing must be hitting her hard, so I decide to follow.

Allison had sat herself down in the center of the gym, her face in her hands. I don’t know if she was cry or not.

“Hey, Allison?” I say, trying to get her attention.

She quickly looks back, seemingly surprised by my presence. “Ark? What are you doing here?” She wipes her face quickly. She had definitely been crying.

“I...I just saw you enter the gym. I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Well...Thanks. But I’m not. And I really need some time alone.” It sounded like she wanted me to leave pretty badly. Her tone was almost harsh and demanding, something she normally didn’t have in her voice.

“Oh...right. Of course. I’m sorry, I’ll just go.” I left the gym, not wanting to disturb her and make matters worse.

I get a bottle of sleeping pills from the nurse’s office and return to the top floor to go to my room.

I sat down and got a couple pills out from the bottle. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to swallow them dry, so I went to my bathroom to take them with some water. But before I could, there was a knock on my door.

I sigh and set the pills down, going to the door to answer it. Jason was standing there, looking worried.

“Have you...seen Allison?” he asks me.

“Uh...yeah, not that long ago actually. Why?”

“She wouldn’t talk to me...and I’m getting worried.”

“She’s down in the gym right now. She wanted to be alone, but I can take you to her if it would make you feel better.”

Jason nods quickly in response. I guess I’d just have to get some sleep later. I lead him to the elevator.

The two of us get in and we take it down to the gym. When we stepped out of the elevator, something felt...wrong. I couldn’t place my finger on it, but it was like a heavy weight of dread filled the air.

The two of us head to the gym. I hesitate at the door. “Something feels wrong, Jason...”

He looks at me and frowns. He quickly throws open the doors and rushes in. I follow behind him.

The two of us find Allison, still in the room. She was sprawled out on the floor, an arrow sticking out of her head. Blood pooled around her.

I was completely silent as I saw her. It didn’t register what was happening at first. It had only been a few minutes. She had been alive only minutes ago and I had seen her. And then I left...and now she was dead. Even after what we learned, someone had died.

I finally look away from the body to look at Jason. I could see he rage brewing in his eyes as he turns his attention to me as well.

“You...” he says harshly.

“M-Me..? Wait, do you think I did this?!” I demand. “Jason, it wasn’t—!”

Jason screams loudly in rage and punches me hard in my stomach. All the air gets knocked out of me and I fall over, curling up and gasping for air. Jason hurried out of the room.

It took me a moment to regain my breath and pull myself back to my feet. I was still wheezing and my stomach hurt badly. The others start hurrying in, letting the body discovery announcement finally play.

Ravenclaw helped me stand up straight as I look back at the body. That was it then. She was really gone.

Allison Murphy, the SHSL Close Call, was dead.

**New Killing Life: Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid**

Jason hadn’t returned to the gym after leaving. He must have told the others about the body and then went off on his own. I hope he didn’t tell everyone I was the killer...

“Why...Why did this happen..?” Erika asks softly. “I-I don’t understand!”

“I thought the killing would be over...” I murmur.

“Well, it’s not. And the killing game has continued on,” Satoshi says. Then he smiles. “Let’s get looking around! We don’t have time to waste!”

Satoshi’s words ring true. We had a trial coming up and we couldn’t just stand around moping. We had to investigate or we’d all die.

Begrudgingly, all of us begin to look around the area. I walk over to the body first.

Allison’s body appeared relatively undisturbed. Despite the arrow in her head, she looked calm and peaceful and relaxed. It must have been quick, which I was thankful for. I happen to movie someone is stained to the bottom of her shoe. There was another injury in her as well. It looked like a rope burn on her neck.

I noticed there was blood on the floor nearby. It didn’t seem to be Allison’s. Where did it come from?

Inside the storage closet, everything seemed relatively undisturbed. One of the arrow quills was sitting out, though. And the string on a bow was snapped in half. There was a bit of blood on that string.

I decided to look around elsewhere after not seeing anything in the room anymore.

I entered Allison’s room first. I wanted to see if she had been doing anything or had something here, like a note or something.

Her room looked like a disaster area. Everything looked like it was going to fall apart at a moment’s notice. Her closet was already sitting on its side and her bed was missing a leg, which had been replaced with clothes.

Some searching led me to find a bottle of medication, open and empty, sitting on her dresser. There was also some vomit on the floor with a towel carelessly thrown onto it. If there was anything else amongst the mess of the room, I wasn’t able to find it, so I left.

Entering the cafeteria, I see that a meal was still sitting out, left half-eaten. A chair was sitting pushed out in front of it, as if whoever had been eating left in a hurry.

After going to the theater to look around, I notice someone had left a prop knife sitting out. Someone had also tied the end of a rope on a sandbag into the shape of a noose, but it seems the rope had broken and both halves were now on the floor.

I found something under the same theme when looking in the lab. Someone had taken out a bottle of poison and a syringe, but the bottle had been knocked out and the contents spilled across the floor. It looked like someone had stepped in it.

They nurse’s office, at a first place, seemed mostly unbothered. But looking through the cabinets revealed to me that not only was a bottle of medication was gone, but so was a roll of bandages.

All of this evidence was beginning to fit a similar theme that left a rotten feeling in my gut. I decide to take a break from looking around to go ask everyone what they had been up to.

Most people had very little to say, having either been in their rooms or doing nothing special. But Ishida and Methuselah has a slightly different story.

“The two of us happened to be training together,” Ishida says. “We has been in the gym at the time, seeing as how we wanted to put it to use.”

“And neither of you knew about Allison’s plans to enter?” I ask them.

Both shake their heads. “We haven’t spoken to Allison at all today,” Methuselah says.

Ishida pauses. “Well, I did see her once, and she was acting very strange. But she wouldn’t stop to answer my questions.”

“Methuselah, what happened to your hand?” I ask.

He looks at it. The glove was torn and it looked a bit bloody. “I injured myself while training with Ishida.”

I nod. “Alright. Thanks for talking to me.” I leave the two alone to return to investigating.

Returning to the gym, I notice something sticking out of Allison’s pocket. It looked like a note. I carefully pull it out.

The note had a bit of blood on it and the penmanship was very neat and written with clear legibility. It read: _Everyone, I’m sorry for what I had to do. I didn’t plan on doing this, but now I have and I can never admit to it. I hope you can all forgive me. This was never my idea._

It was a strange note. I wasn’t entirely sure what its purpose was or what it meant. I carefully put it back where I found out.

The trial announcement plays soon after I had found the note. I frown a little. There was something after this murder that felt off. It couldn’t be as cut and dry as it seemed. I leave the room

Everyone meets up inside the elevator. Jason wouldn’t look st me and an angry look continues to rest on his face. I didn’t say anything to him.

There’s a low groan from the elevator and it does its usual rocket downwards. Everyone was prepare for it this time and managed not to get the to the floor. The elevator hits its usual abrupt stop and everyone managed to stay standing.

The doors open and we all step out. Despite how simple things looked, I knew this wouldn’t be so easy. Even if not everyone would agree. But as long as I could steer things in the right direction, I was sure we’d all come out okay. And with that in mind, I knew I was ready. It was tkmendor the fourth class trial to begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head gore


	29. Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Killing Life Trial Part I

We all step out of the elevator and into the trial room. We make our way to our podiums. Damond and Allison now has portraits to join the rest, Damond’s mostly covered with a splatter and Allison’s crossed out like normal.

“I guess we should just get right into it,” I say.

“You day that as if you’re getting used to this,” Sacri comments.

“Please don’t remind me...” I grumble softly. The idea of getting used to any of this was absolutely sickening to me, but the possibility was now lingering in the back of my mind.

“Allison’s b-body was rather um...interesting...” Ravenclaw murmurs.

“Ah, you mean all the injuries, right?” Satoshi asks.

Ravenclaw nods. “Y-Yes! She had a few noticeable i-injuries...”

“None of that matters too much, does it?” Victor asks. “The killer blow was clearly the arrow to the head.”

“The other injuries could tell us more about the circumstances of the murder,” Ishida points out. “Don’t toss evidence aside just because it doesn’t seem useful at first glance.”

“Blah blah blah,” was Victor’s reply.

Erika glares at him and huffs. “Be nice! We need to work together! I thought we talked about this!”

Victor frowns a bit and crosses his arms. “Right...”

I wasn’t sure when they talked about this, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

“I noticed Allison had some serious rope burns around her neck,” Satoshi says. “It looked like she had been choked with something.”

“Perhaps the killer made an attempt on her life before the arrow,” Methuselah theorizes.

“No, I...I don’t think that’s quite it,” I say. “In the theater, there seems to be a noose made of of one of the ropes holding up a sandbag. It looked like she had been hung.”

“Aha! So that means the arrow is a facade!” Satoshi gels suddenly. “Of course!”

Jason scowls. “Ark knows a little...too much...”

“Jason, are you trying to point fingers already?” Victor asks. “I know you just started speaking, but the confidence there is a little high.”

“Jason, I didn’t do it,” I say. It was a bit disheartening to have Jason trust me so little, but I’d be a liar to say I didn’t understand where he was coming from. After this trial, I’d be sure to have a talk with him.

“So, working under my assertion of the facade, it’s clear Allison was killed via hanging!” Satoshi says. “I bet this was just used to throw us off the trail! Haha!”

“Satoshi, that can’t be right,” I say. “There’s clearly more going on here than that.”

He huffs and puts his hands on his hips. “Oh yeah? Can you prove it, Ark?”

“Well, there is the fact that the rope had snapped at one part,” I say.

“Couldn’t it simply be cut?” Methuselah asks.

I think for a moment. “Well, I guess, but why bother cutting it? It would be pointless when you could just undo the knot and he done with it.”

“It does leave more evidence to point toward the killer!” Erika adds.

“Then why did it break at all?” Ishida asks. 

“Maybe It has something to do with Allison,” Sacri suggests.

“What do you mean?” Methuselah asks them.

“Well, she was the SHSL Close Call, correct? Her talent was about not dying,” they explain. “So it stands to reason killing her would prove difficult.”

“So you think the rope snapped because her luck was preventing her from dying?” Victor asks. “Damn, if I knew it’d be that hard, I’d have run some tests! I could have made a serum for it...”

“That’s not what you should be upset about!” I demand.

Jason growls softly, but it seems like his anger wouldn’t be helping with adding commentary for now.

“Wasn’t there also a prop knife sitting out?” Ishida asks.

“Oh, yeah, there was,” I say.

“She must have been in the theater when the killer tried to murder her,” Satoshi say. “They didn’t even realize the knife wasn’t real Haha!”

“But prop knives...feel different than...normal knives...” Jason says. I think his anger was starting to dissipate, but I couldn’t tell.

“They do?” Victor asks. “Well that’s dumb!”

“It’s probably so the actors can tell the difference,” I say. “If all the knives looked and felt the same, you’d probably have a bigger chance of taking the wrong one.”

“But then how would the k-killer not notice if the uh...the knife was the wrong one?” Ravenclaw asks.

“Perhaps they were in a rush,” Sacri suggests. “They might have just grabbed anything nearby and used it.”

“But then why would Allison just let the killer take he time to make a noose and hang her?” Erika asks. “It’s so weird...”

“Wasn’t there a mess in her room as well?” Satoshi points out. “This whole thing is just all over the place! Haha!”

“Her room...is always a mess...” Jason says softly.

“But there was something else,” he counters. “Did anyone else see it? Ark, I think I saw you going through a dead girl’s room.”

“Thanks for the phrasing...” I grumble. “But...yeah, I went into Allison’s room. She had an empty pill bottle in there and it looked like she threw up.”

“So...did the killer force her to down a bunch of pills?” Victor asks.

“I’m not even sure what’s going on anymore...” Methuselah grumbles.

“It seems rather unlikely Allison would be attacked in her room, go to the theater to be attacked twice, then to the gym to finally be killed,” Sacri agreed.

“But...someone had to have killed her, right?” Erika asks. “I mean, unless she...”

“No,” Jason says.

“What are you talking about, big guy?” Satoshi asks. “Something wrong?

“Erika is...wrong. Allison would never...ever do that...she wouldn’t!” he demanded.

“But...it’s not impossible...” she murmurs.

“I said NO!” Jason screams loudly.

“I ain’t going through this denial crap again!” Victor demands.

Satoshi nods in agreement. “It’s not fun the second time around! Haha!”

“This isn’t supposed to be fun...” I mutter.

“Is there anything else we c-can potentially...g-go over?” Ravenclaw asks.

“Maybe the half-eaten lunch in the cafeteria?” Ishida suggests.

“Allison could have been there!” Erika says. “Maybe that’s when she was attacked!”

“We have her jumping around the building enough,” Sacri says exhaustively. “Unless you can prove it was Allison eating in there, don’t suggest it.”

“It could have easily been the killer as well,” Ishida points out. “Unless we all know exactly what type of meals we like to eat, we can’t say if—“

“Allison liked...homestyle meals...” Jason says.

“Oh, good that reminds me of home is soooooo good!” Erika chirps.

“It seemed like a steak had been the choice of food,” Satoshi says. “Not very home-like, even for American standards! Haha!”

“Besides, it uh, doesn’t make sense for Allison to e-eat her food just to leave it there to go to her room...and just...and get attacked,” Ravenclaw points out.

“Well, is anyone going admit to being in the cafeteria at the time?” Ishida asks.

No one rose their hands or spoke up.

“Then that must mean it was the killer!” Victor says.

“Or someone doesn’t want to be incriminated,” I add.

“I guess we should move on then,” Methuselah says.

“It...was...Ark!” Jason says.

“Back to this?” Sacri asks.

“He was with Allison...in the gym...before she died!”

“Wait, you were?” Victor asks. “You never said that!”

“I was getting some sleep medication from the nurse’s office and I saw her go into the gym,” I explain quickly. “I went to check on her and she told me she wanted to be alone.”

“Did she have those marks on her neck at the time?” Erika asks.

“I...I’m not sure. She might have.”

“Ark’s lying!” Jason demands. “He’s the killer!”

“Jason, I know you’re angry about Allison, but you must calm down!” Sacri says quickly. “Please, this isn’t helping!”

“Shut up! He killed her! He’s a liar!”

Jason seemed completely enraged. Whatever other answer he thinks might exist must be scaring him into jumping to conclusions. I had no choice but to stop him down before this carried on for too long.

“Ark’s the killer!”

“He has to be it!”

“I know it’s him...because he’s a liar!”

“Jason, please, just take a moment to listen. It’s not me, I can prove it!” I demand.

“No, stop lying!”

“You killed Allison!”

“You went into the gym...to murder her!”

What, that’s it! The hole in Jason’s argument! “I’ll cut your words down!” I yell out.

Jason frowns a bit and looks taken back.

“There was blood in the gym that couldn’t have been Allison’s. That had to mean the killer hurt themselves,” I say.

“But what could they possibly get hurt on?” Sacri asks.

“The broken bow. There was blood on the wire of the string. It probably snapped and cut the killer.”

“And that proves you weren’t there because..?” Satoshi asks.

“You can look me over. I don’t have a single wound on me,” I say.

“Then whoever got hurt is the killer, right?” Ishida asks.

“Not necessarily!” Erika says suddenly.

That gets our attention. She beams proudly. “Finally! I’ve been trying to say that Allison might not have died the way everyone thinks she did!”

“What? But how else could she have died?” Methuselah asks.

Erika puffs or her cheeks, looking annoyed. “Isn’t it obvious? Are aaaaaany of you even paying attention?”

What did she mean by that? She didn’t seem happy we didn’t know already. Maybe if I figured it out, she’d explain herself more. I just had to think.

_What was so weird about the murder?_

Allison was seemingly attacked at least four times.

_Did anyone see her during these attacks?_

I did, before she died.

_How was she behaving?_

Nervous, if not scared and definitely wanting me gone.

_Why would she act like this?_

Because she was trying to hide something from me.

My eyes shine. Of course! “I have the answer!” I demand.

“What? You do?” Ishida asks me.

“Man, I don’t even know entirely what Erika wants,” Victor says.

“You guys just need to think about it a bit more. Think about the most confusing part of the case,” I say.

“That would be all the um...murder attempts...I think...” Ravenclaw says.

I nod. “Exactly. There were at least three we saw that failed and a fourth one hat succeeded. But they all happened in three different rooms. How could Allison possibly let that all happen to her and not get help when I showed up?”

“Well...she could have been too scared,” Sacri says.

I shake my head. “No...I think it was something else...”

“Aaaah! You do understand!” Erika says happily.

“Well I don’t!” Satoshi says. “Haha! Guess you gotta tell me! How annoying!”

“The reason there were so many murder attempts that Allison never tried to stop...is because she wanted to die,” I say.


	30. Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Killing Life Trial Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings below!

“She...She wanted to die?” Ishida asks. “But that doesn’t...”

“Perhaps she felt immense guilt,” Sacri says after a moment of thought. “I think the motive was too much on her psyche.”

“The way she reacted after being told people died because of her...she was feeling all that survivor guilt at once,” I say. “And then just to be told the world had ended and half of the remaining people in the world were dead? She must have just given up...”

Jason was starting to tear up. “N-No...she...she wouldn’t just...”

The thought of Allison sinking that low and resorting to something like this made my skin crawl. If I had know she was even considering that, I could have done something. I should have stayed in that gym. I should have talked to her. I should have done so many things...

“So is that it then?” Satoshi asks after a moment. Even he seemed pretty somber right now. “She killed herself. Is that our answer?”

“I think so,” Methuselah agrees. “This seems like a suicide.”

I frown a bit. “Wait, hold on a second...”

“Is something wrong?” Victor asks. “Looks like a done deal to me! Allison got too sad and offed herself.”

“I...I think I have to Um...agree,” Ravenclaw murmurs.

“But doesn’t that seem too easy?” Erika asks. “I mean...that just can’t be it! Something feels...wrong...”

“Well what else could it be then?” Methuselah asks.

“Hm! How bout assisted suicide?” Satoshi asks. “Someone killed her because she asked.”

“That makes sense,” Sacri agrees. “Someone always could have helped her.”

“That’s stupid! Why would someone go and do that?!” Victor demands.

“Someone...Someone had to...” Jason murmurs.

“Hm...it looks like we’re split right down the middle,” Ishida says.

I put my face in my hands and sigh. Of course. Of course someone had to go and say that!

“Split down the middle?!” Monokuma asks excitedly. “Then that means it’s time to use the all new Terramorphing Trial Grounds!”

“Or we could just work this out like normal people!” I demand.

Monokuma ignores me. “It’s morphing time!” He presses the small button on his throne. We get locked in and the wheels on everyone’s podiums pop up. We all go flying around the room until two rows faced one another.

“Today we’re going to debate between whether or not Allison killed herself or if someone did it for her! On the side saying Allison did it herself is: Methuselah, Ishida, Ravenclaw, and Victor! On the side saying someone did the deed for her, we have: Ark, Satoshi, Erika, Jason, and the cloaked thing! So, let the debates begin!”

Victor slides forward first. “Allison wanted to die, so obviously she’d do it herself!”

Erika clashes with him. “That doesn’t mean she did! She could have just as easily gotten someone to do it for her!”

Ishida slides up next. “Examples of her suicide are scattered everywhere and you think someone was tricked into doing it for her?”

I crash with Ishida. “No one is saying they had to be tricked! She could have gotten someone to agree to it!”

Methuselah rides up. “There’s no evidence someone even helped her with this.”

Satoshi goes against him. “Did you forget already? There was stray blood and the broken bow string! Surely that means there was a little helper! Haha!”

Ravenclaw comes up next. “Sh-She um...could have easily...finished herself off?”

Jason collided with him. “Allison isn’t very strong...so she couldn’t! Not to herself!”

Ishida moves up again. “How can you be sure all of this isn’t just a facade?”

Sacri clashes with him. “We can look over the body if you wish. But the fact of the matter is that she showed signs of other trauma and it’s impossible to assume that she let all this happen unwillingly.”

Victor slides up. “Everything about this damn trial is screaming suicide!”

I crash with him. “Assisted suicide is still suicide!”

The two groups of us push and fight for dominance. The engines roar to life as they fight harder and harder against each other. But eventually, the other side gave in and we forced them back.

“This is the answer we discovered together!” the five of us yell.

All of the stands move back to where they were and return to their normal state.

“So she killed herself...with the help of someone else?” Ravenclaw asks hesitantly.

“I don’t understand why someone would want to do that,” Victor mumbles. “After what we were told...”

“The bear could be lying!” Erika demands. “We shouldn’t just trust Monokuma!”

“He hasn’t been wrong yet,” Ishida reminds.

“Look, is any of that really important right now?” Satoshi asks, sounding annoyed. “Someone is dead and you’re worried about the what if’s! Focus on the what next!”

“What happens next is that we need to start looking for suspects,” Sacri says. “We’ve already ruled out Ark and I highly doubt Jason was involved. We need to move on.”

“What evidence do we even have to point towards another person?” Methuselah asks.

“He’s right,” Ishida agreed. “Most of the evidence seems to be about Allison’s many failed suicide attempts.”

Jason whimpers softly at the mention of that.

“There is still a...a little bit of evidence lying around,” Ravenclaw points out.

“Someone left their meal half eaten,” Erika says. “What a waste of food...”

“It doesn’t seem likely Allison would just abandon a meal to suddenly go kill herself,” Satoshi says.

“We already decides Allison didn’t eat the kind of food that had been made,” I say. “Remember? The killer had to have been eating it.”

“Are...Are we really going to pick the killer based on...um...on dietary choices?” Ravenclaw asks softly.

“There’s also the bow and blood,” Sacri reminds. “Someone got hurt trying to end her life.”

“Does anyone here have any notable injuries we should know about?” Victor asks. “It seems like information like that will be vital to us.”

Someone with an injury? Well...only one person came to mind and it was...no...it couldn’t. But it was beginning to make sense.

“I think I can answer that,” I say, drawing everyone’s attention. I knew this was it. The killer was..!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suicide. For the entire trial.


	31. Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Killing Life Trial Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings below!

“Methuselah...you have a cut on your hand, don’t you?” I ask.

Methuselah tilts his head a bit and nods. “Yes, I do. I hurt myself while training with Ishida. I told you that.”

“Ishida, can you confirm this?” I ask.

“Well...I can confirm we were training,” Ishida says after a moment. “But I can’t say that I had any knowledge of Methuselah hurting himself.”

“Not even a little blood on your sword?”

Ishida shakes his head. “Not a drop.”

“And were you two training in the gym?”

“We were. But I don’t recall any blood anywhere before leaving.”

“Methuselah, I want the truth. Now. How did you hurt your hand?”

“I...I told you,” he says. “I hurt it while training with Ishida. He must not have noticed is all. And I didn’t want to worry him by mentioning some stupid cut.”

“Ishida, did Methuselah tell you where he was going after the two of you finished training?” Satoshi asks.

“Hm? Oh...he said he had worked up an appetite,” Ishida responds. “He planned on going to get some food. I wasn’t hungry so I had gone to the library.”

“So, Methuselah...went to eat?” Ravenclaw asks. “Doesn’t he um...basically live with royalty?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with any of this,” Methuselah says.

“Your average person isn’t exactly going to try to make themselves a meal from a 5 Star restaurant...” Victor murmurs uncertainty.

“Is this all you have? A bit of circumstantial evidence?”

“...your strength,” Jason says. “Strong enough...to use an arrow...like a weapon...”

Methuselah frown. “Hmph...”

There was a moment of silence now. Methuselah didn’t say anything in his defense but no one wanted to continue talking until he said something.

“...so...do you all believe I’m the killer?” he asks after s moment.

“It-It’s not that,” I say quickly. “It’s just...you’re the only suspect we have and your alibi is really shaky at best.”

“I see...Ark, do you understand what this means?”

“Uh...no, but I don’t think I’ll like it...”

“It means you’re going to have to come at me with your all. I don’t back down without a fight!”

Somehow I knew he didn’t mean he was going to chase me around like usual. But...did this mean he actually did it? I couldn’t be sure. I think I did have something I could use to point everything toward Methuselah. I just had to get it through to him.

“Without your—“

“ _I won’t make this easy!_ ”

“—alibi to help—“

“ _Try harder than that!_ ”

“—you have—“

“ _This won't end well for you!_ ”

“—no defense!” I yell through his words.

“Is that really the best you can do?!” Methuselah demands. “After all this time, you couldn’t even work out a motive! I have none to speak of, so therefore, I’m not the killer!”

This was it! The flaw to his argument! “That’s where you’re wrong!” I shout out.

“Ah...excuse me?” he asks. “How am I wrong?”

“If Allison really came up to you, asking for...for help...then as the SHSL Executioner, you have more than enough motive to do it! You’ve told me yourself. You kill on command and you have others with suicide. So if Allison, desperate and distraught, came to you asking for your help...you have a reason to say yes.”

Methuselah...said nothing in rebuttal. He was silent now.

“Methuselah..?” Ishida looks a little upset now. “Did...you actually—“

“I think I’ll let Ark take it from here,” he says. “You can piece things together, can’t you?”

I nod a little bit. “Uh...yeah. Let's wrap this whole thing up.”

“The entire murder starts with Allison. This whole thing was her idea. After learning about the secret kept from her and the state of the world, she must have just given up. I don’t like thinking about it, but that had to be what happened. It’s hard to tell where she started, but it was probably with the bottle of medication. She downed the entire thing, but ended up throwing it up. She moved on to the theater and tried to use the knife, but being a prop, it failed to do anything. So she went to hanging next and it almost worked. The rope snapped in the end and she continued to survive, even if she had developed rope burns. She must have been desperate and sad. She couldn’t do it and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep trying. So she went to Someone she believed could handle it. The killer. The killer had been wrong food when she came to him with her problem. The two hurried off, most likely after an explanation. They went to the gym. Allison has gotten there first because I saw her and followed her in. She was quick to shoo me away because she knew I’d intervene. I didn’t know why she was doing, so I left. The killer arrived and tried using a bow and arrow to kill her. The bow snapped, cutting their hand and drawing blood. They decided to use a more direct plan and rammed the arrow into her head...and it worked. Allison had died. They quickly left to patch up their hand and go off to be somewhere else while wiring for the body to get discovered. And the only person I can think of that would do that...is you, Methuselah!” I declare.

“Well...it looks like you win, Ark,” he says calmly.

Ishida scowls. “Methuselah, you...really killed her?”

He nods. “I did. I murdered Allison because she asked me to.”

“That’s...all it really took?” Erika asks. “She just had to ask?”

“...yes, generally speaking. But I saw the look in her eyes,” he goes on. “If I had said no, I knew she’d just keep trying on her own. And what if she went with something more painful? What if she tried to drown herself? Or cut off air? Or starve? Or dehydrate? Or bleed out? I tried to make it as painless as possible. If I had left her to her own decided, she would have suffered...”

“Why...didn’t you stop her?!” Jason demands angrily. I could see tears well up in his eyes. “This wasn’t the answer...she could have been saved!”

“Jason, I don’t expect you to understand what happened,” Methuselah says. “But if you had seen the look in her eyes...you’d have understood...”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Victor asks. “You could have killed us all with this trial!”

“I was um...wondering that as well...” Ravenclaw murmurs. “Your motive wasn’t even to leave so...so why let the trial go on?”

“It was Allison’s last request,” he says.

I frown softly. “What..?”

“Allison and I both knew the risks. She felt terrible for putting me in danger for this. So the two of us came up with a deal. If I managed to successfully kill her, I would take the opportunity to attempt to leave this place and see the true condition of the outside world.”

“You risked our lives for something as stupid as that?!” Satoshi demands.

“I have a country to run,” he says, raising his voice a little. “With Hiroshi dead, that leaves the entire bloodline extinct! And I’m left in charge...I had to be there for my country and my people. If there was a chance they were still alive...I was willing to make sure.”

“This is so fucked up...” I mutter.

“Well it’s gonna get even worse soon!” Monokuma says. “Let’s move on to the voting time! So, who’s the blackened? Will your make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?!”

Everyone puts in their votes.

“Oh, I’m so excited! Lets see the results!” Monokuma cheers.

Pictures of everyone pop up again with the faces of the dead crosses off. There were eight tally marks next to Methuselah.

“That’s right! Methuselah, the SHSL Executioner, is the killer!”

Jason was starting to whimper and cry. “I don’t understand...I...I don’t understand why...”

“Allison mentioned you before she died,” Methuselah says offhandedly. “She told me she would be worried about you. I assured her that you had friends here to watch after you. And...she wanted me to let you know that she’d be watching you with the others. We all will be. I don’t know if I believe in the afterlife, but I think it’s a nice thought.”

Jason continued to cry at his podium.

“Geez, save the water works for after the execution!” Monokuma says. He giggles into his paws. “I love the irony!”

“Can’t you just shit up for once?!” I demand.

“Temper, Temper! Need I remind you who got the truth out? Anyway, this is getting boring so let’s kick this off! It’s PUNISHMENT TIIIIIIME!” He slams the mallet down on the button.

The podiums lock everyone in. The screens flash to life one by one, everyone’s showing a green screen with a happy Monokuma. But Methuselah gets a red screen with an angry Monokuma.

The wheels on everyone’s podiums pop up. We all go flying across the room until there were two rows on either side with Methuselah facing the massive doors in the room. The door slowly slide open. The engine on Methuselah's podiums revs loudly and speeds off into the doors and out of sight.

**Methuselah has been found guilty.**

**Commencing the punishment...**

Methuselah stood on an extravagant stage, his head and hands stuck in a stock. There was a massive crowd sitting out in front of him. Boxes and galleries lined the walls, also filled with people. Everyone was watching him.

The crowd was quiet. Bright stage lights were trained on Methuselah. He couldn’t see the crowd well but they could all see him perfect. Something from the crowd flies outward. A tomato splats against Methuselah's head. And then a massive wall of red comes flying right for him.

**Now Presenting: the Fall Of Methuselah!**

Tomatoes splatter against Methuselah in a massive wave, coating him entirely in red. He groans and starts to pull on his restraints. A lock jingles, keeping the stock shut.

Something strikes the stock next to Methuselah’s head. It was a knife. Another knife flies over his head. He starts to pull harder on the stock, trying to free himself of it. Another knife flies past him.

There’s a low groan from the stock as the wood begins to strain. He pulls back on it with all his strength until there’s a loud snap! The wood post keeping the stock on the ground breaks and Methuselah falls backward, barely missing a knife that would have struck him in the face. The crowd begins to boo and hiss loudly.

Methuselah forces himself back into his feet and runs off as the crowd continues to try and hit him with weaponry. He dashed off the stage, the sound of the booong disappearing.

Methuselah continues running, entering a room connected to the stage. Blinding lights flash on. He was in another stage. There was another audience. And this time, they all had something new. Red dots appeared all over Methuselah’s body.

He quickly runs off again as gunshots fill the room, blasting holes into the wall. He seemed to avoid them all, but as he got to the end of the stage, one strikes him in the leg. He screams and goes tumbling out of sight and into another room.

Methuselah stops in the center of another stage facing another audience. His leg was bleeding. None of the audience members seems to have a weapon or an object of any kind. This room almost felt s—

The sound of rope being cut fills the room. A large blade falls from the ceiling, landing on Methuselah’s neck. His head rolls off the stage and falls onto the floor below.

All the podiums go back to where they once were and release us at the end of yet another gruesome execution.

I put a hand over my mouth and stumble off my podium, nearly falling over in the process. I felt weak and sick. This was the fourth time someone killed and died and it failed to get any easier to witness this. I couldn’t take much more of it.

The others were silent, except for Jason, who had been crying the entire time, as they got off their podiums as well.

Ishida looks rather distraught. He wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. But no one had anything to say anyway. They didn’t console or yell or do...anything. They just went back to the elevator in silence.

I watch them all go, still feeling sick. But now I felt sick for another reason. It was their complicitry attitudes. The way they just let this happen without a word or an effort to stop it. They didn’t even react to Methuselah dying. It disgusted me.

After a moment, I trudge into the elevator. The others had waited for me. We take it back up in silence and leave once it had reached the top.

We all go to our rooms for the night. Sacri gave Jason a hug before the two went into their rooms.

I lay down in my bed once I entered my room. My mind was fuzzy and I could already feel it slipping away as I grew more tired. How much longer could I go on like this? How long until I went insane..?

I fell asleep, having uneasy dreams throughout the night.

**Chapter 4: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - Completed!**

Ark, Ravenclaw, ~~Chrysta~~ , Jason, ~~Allison~~ , Erika, ~~Martha~~ , ~~Eddy~~ , Satoshi, Ishida, ~~Hiroshi~~ , ~~Methuselah~~ , ~~Yavin~~ , ~~Sukai~~ , ???, ~~Damond~~ , Victor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decapitation  
> More talk of suicide


	32. Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer... - Daily Life Part I

**New Daily Life - Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer...**

The morning announcement wakes me up as it always did. I groan and sit up. I felt really uncomfortable and...sweaty. I peel my blanket off of me. My room felt so hot and stuff. That was weird, wasn’t it?

I get ready for the day, being sure to take an extra cold shower before putting my clothes on. I left the room, noticing the hallway didn’t feel much better.

Everyone gathers in the cafeteria. Judging from the looks on their face, everyone was very uncomfortable right now. We were all waiting for Monokuma to show up, it seems.

There was a few moments of silence. I had started to sweat again. That’s about when Monokuma showed up, walking into the room. He had a dark look on his face.

“What the hell is up your ass?” Satoshi asks irritably.

“I’ve been having some problems with my cohorts,” Monokuma grumbles. “It seems we don’t see eye-to-eye anymore.”

“Your cohorts? What exactly do you mean?” I ask him.

“What does it sound like I mean? I mean the traitor, dummy!”

“Whaaaaaat?!” Erika asks in shock.

“There’s been a traitor this entire time?” Sacri asks. “Oh dear...”

“Yep! And I’m getting sick of their shit!” Monokuma demands. “So, traitor, consider this the end of the line for you! This is the final week you’ll be seen alive! Because if you don’t hop to it and kill, I promise you that your so-called friends will find you first. And don’t think they’ll all be so merciful after the find out what you are...” He giggles ominously into his paws and begins to waddle off.

“H-Hey, Wait, um...what about the heat? Is...Is that not a motive?” Ravenclaw asks.

“Huh?” Monokuma looks over his shoulder. Hen he turns away and waves his paw dismissively. “Oh, Yeah, that. Damn thing’s on the fritz! Expect a lot of heat and chill until I get it to work! So for the time being, consider the no sleeping outside your rooms rule abolished! Sleep wherever you like as long as this is an issue!” And on that note, he left.

Our handbooks all ping with a newly added rule.

8\. Students may sleep wherever they like as long as conditions in the bedrooms are unsuitable.

“So...was he being serious?” I ask. “With all that traitor stuff?”

“Probably,” Victor says. “Not like it’s a whole new concept. I guess we’ll just have to keep our eyes peeled.”

Erika puffs her cheeks out. “This is sooooo dumb!”

“Maybe we should just...try to occupy ourselves with something else,” Ishida says.

“I think the new rooms are open,” Satoshi says. “Let’s go see what we got! Haha!”

“Wait, you guys aren’t going to question the thing with the heater?” I ask.

“It’s probably just some dumb motive he started up,” Victor says. “Sometimes it can be sneaky like that.”

I frown softly. I didn’t feel satisfied with that answer.

Everyone leaves the room to go do whatever it is they planned on doing with their time. I decide to go investigate the new rooms.

I get into the elevator, which currently felt like a scalding death trap, and press the newly lit up button. The elevator takes me down to the very bottom floor.

I step out of the elevator as I reach the bottom. This floor was ice cold. It was nice for a few seconds, but soon I was shivering.

This area was very cutesy, with pink walls covered in pictures that would really only appeal to children. Balloons hung on the ceiling and made the room feel more colorful. I start walking along the hall to the left

The first room I find wasn’t...really a room. It was a plastic tunnel in the wall. Peering inside, it seemed to lead to some sort of giant playground area. The kind of thing you’d expect to see in a fast food restaurant, but bigger and more maze-like. I didn’t feel like getting lost inside right now, so I moved on.

The next room was home to a large swimming pool. It took up more of the room. There was a diving board sitting at one end that was very tall. The pool seemed to have depths from 1 meter to 6 meters. There were two changing stations in the back of the room, one for boys and one for girls. Some pool chairs are sat out for relaxation. There was a best against the left wall filled with pool toys of all kinds, as well.

Looking at the pool, I notice it was frozen solid. Was it really that cold?! Since this wasn’t the appropriate temperature for taking a dip, I left the room.

Surprisingly enough, I don’t find another room in the area. It was just the two. “Is Monokuma starting to get lazy..?” I don’t think I cared enough to think about that.

The two rooms were mostly useless for finding anything worthwhile. I decide the best course of action is to just go hang out with the others until I felt a little better.

I stayed on the floor I was for now. I liked the cold over he heat, in all honestly. I was going to go check out the playground when I noticed Erika climbing into the tunnel.

“Hey, what are you up to?” I ask her.

She looks at me from over her shoulder. “Hmmmm? Fluffy ran awaaaaaay!” She looks back into the tunnel and puffs out her cheeks. “Now I gotta get him!”

I guess that meant her cat was lost in the playground. That thing was a maze of multicolored plastic hell! She could spend hours searching.

“How about I come help you? We can look together. If one of us finds him, we’ll yell and meet up, okay?”

Erika perks up a bit and smiles. “Yaaaaay! You’re so smart! Come ooooon!” She crawls off into the tunnel and I follow after her.

I spend time helping Erika search for her lost cat. The two of us grew a little closer today.

After a while, Erika had yelled and the two of us managed to find our way back to the entrance. I noticed the floor felt like room temperature again.

Erika tumbled out of the tunnel after I got out, the black cat held gently in her arms. He meowed and yawned. Seems he hadn’t been as worried about the entire ordeal as Erika.

She spins around happily, holding out the cat like a prize. “I fooooound him!”

I smile softly and let the cat gently when she stopped her spinning. “Yeah, I guess you did. How did he get away from you in the first place?”

Erika blinks. “...weeeeell...I might have been taking him on a smaaaaall walk.”

“A small on, eh? Small enough for him to bolt?”

“...okay, find, maaaaaaybe I was trying to play tag with him. But if didn't think he’s run awaaaaay!” She puff out her cheeks and looks away.

Didn’t she know cats play by their own rules? “Erika, do you have any experience with living animals? Or...living anything?”

“Well...no. Momma and Papa didn’t trust meeeee with pets. Said I’d get them killed or sacrifice them to a deeeeemon...”

“Right...and you wouldn’t actually do that, right?”

She huffs and sticks her tongue out. “Jerk! Who do you think I aaaaam?!”

She kicks me in the shin and storms off. It didn’t really hurt, but she got her point across. It also sounded like her and her parents were on equal footing with each other. I decide to leave the area. No one else was down here it seems.

I entered the candy shop and found Victor of all people here. The room felt a bit too warm. Nothing unbearable, but it was noticeable.

Victor was currently getting an assortment of random candy together. Some of the chocolates seemed a little melted and other candy was stuck together in clusters. He didn’t seem to mind though.

“Victor, what are you doing?” I ask him.

He looks at me, busy shoveling some jelly beans into a large bag filled with all kinds of candy. “Stuff.”

“Anything specific?”

He sighs and looks at me in annoyance. “I’m taking samples to try and make the best candy ever. And it was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess nothing gets past your snoopy ass.”

Looks like this was normal Victor. “Alright, Christ, I’m sorry...I can help if you want. It looks like you have a lot to handle.”

Victor looks down at his almost filled bag of candy then to the other shelves in the room. Had he only gone through one wall of shelves?

“...okay, fine. You can help. But don’t tell anyone!”

I nod and grab the largest bag I could. I spend time helping Victor collect candy. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I managed to fill up an entire bag with just one wall of candy. There were four bags by the time we were done.

“Uh...thanks for the help,” Victor says.

“Yeah, no problem,” I assure him. “Do you make stuff like this often?”

He glances at me. “Stuff like what?”

I shrug. “I dunno, like...harmless stuff. You’re trying to make the best candy right now. How often do you make stuff like that?”

“Oh, Uh...not often,” he admits. “But Erika would be at my throat if I made what I normally do.”

Did I want to ask what he normally made? I wasn’t sure. The only example I had was his other self and all the nameless concoctions he tried to make me drink.

“I guess you two have gotten pretty close then.”

“Of course we have! After Damond died, I was the only person that she had left here. Everyone just thinks she’s some annoying creep...”

I frown a tiny bit. “I never thought that...”

“Considering you were the second person she turned to, I believe it.” Victor sounded just a little bit jealous there was someone else Erika was willing to put her trust in.

“Well, you’re still her best friend, and the two of you are good for each other I think.”

Victor pauses for a moment before looking away, blushing. “Geez, you make it sound like I’m a good influence or something! Do you even know who you’re talking to?!”

“Er...right. My bad,” I say. I guess Victor’s self-imposed image was important to him.

Victor collects all the bags in his arms. “And now you’re distracting me. I’m going to go work in peace. Don’t bother following!” He marches off.

Victor sure was a weird guy. But when given someone to care about, I think here was a good person inside him.

I grab a chocolate bar and leave as I snack on it.

I enter the gym to find Ishida. He was meditating on the floor. The room was blazing hot and sweat dripped down his brown. I could already feel myself beginning to get uncomfortable.

I walk over to Ishida. “Uh...hey.”

He opens his eyes and gazes up to me. “Do you need something, Ark?”

“Oh! I...I just wanted to see if you wanted to leave the room. The temperature is insane...” I pull on the collar of my shirt gently.

Ishida sighs and shakes his head. “I’m fine. I can use it to my advantage. I’m using it to work on my endurance. I can handle intense heat and cold for days on end if need be.”

What kind of training did he do at home? This sounded insane!

“Would you like to join me, Ark?” He gazes back up to me.

“I Uh...” If I backed out, I think he’d understand. But my mind traveled back to Methuselah. “...I guess I can hang out for a bit.”

I sit down next to Ishida. He closes his eyes again and I decide to do the same thing. I spend time enduring the heat with Ishida. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I wasn’t doing so well after a while. I was sweaty and feeling the pressure of the heat wearing down on me.

“Ark, perhaps you should go,” Ishida says, causing me to open my eyes.

“Oh! Uh...y-yeah, maybe...” I murmur gently.

“...you don’t seem like the type to want to do this sort of thing. What made you stick around?”

“I...” I guess I should be honest with him. “...after Methuselah died, I figured you’d want a bit of company.”

Ishida was quiet for a moment. “I appreciate the gesture, Ark, but...I...” He goes quiet again and I look at him. I could see him fighting back tears.

I didn’t realize that he was so emotional. Normally he acted so cool and calm. “Uh...that was a bit of a bad time to bring thatvup, wasn’t it?”

“No, I-I’m fine. Really. So...don’t worry about me. I can handle it.” He wipes his face off and takes a several deeps breaths...and then he seemed better again.

“Ishida, did you not cry after the trial?” I ask after a moment.

“...why would I do that? I have things under control.”

“It’s okay if you have to cry, no one is going to—“

“I said I have things under control!” His voice was sharp and harsh. He clearly wanted me to shut up.

“...right. Sorry. I’ll just...go.” I get up and leave the gym.

I take the elevator back up to the top floor in time for the nighttime announcement to play. I sigh softly and head to my bedroom.

My room was a little chilly right now. It wasn’t anything too uncomfortable and definitely better than the condition I woke up in.

I get cleaned up and crawl into bed. I was kind of tired, but a thought kept echoing through my head.

The traitor. Was there really one out there? Who were they? Why would they team up with the bear? I had so many questions but...did I really want the answers?

My mind slips away as I fall into a dreamless sleep.


	33. Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer... - Daily Life Part II

The morning announcement gets me up the next day. My room was freezing cold today. I shiver and sit up, wrapping my blanket around myself tightly.

I do my best to get ready for the day, but I was far too cold to take a shower. I’d probably freeze over if I did! I finish doing everything else and leave my room.

I head to the cafeteria. This floor was beginning to warm up. By the time I got to my destination, the temperature was normal and I felt more comfortable.

Only some of the others were here. The rest had probably slept elsewhere and were on their way here. I get myself some food and sit down to eat.

I look around the room. Victor, Satoshi, Erika, and Ravenclaw were all present at the moment. I was sitting with Ravenclaw as usual. Erika was sitting alone since Victor was with Satoshi. The two of her were talking about something excitedly. They had blueprints and papers scattered around the table they sat at while they talked.

Erika got up from where she was sitting and moved over to me and Ravenclaw, taking a seat across from us.

“Is uh...I-Is something the matter, Erika?” Ravenclaw asks tentatively.

“Victor’s ignoring meeeeee!” she whines.

“I think he’s just talking to Satoshi,” I clarify.

She pouts. “He is. They’re doing aaaall this science-y mumbo-jumbo!”

“Do you know what it is they’re doing..?” Ravenclaw glances back at the two boys as they continue talking.

The air was getting uncomfortably warm again. The doors open as everyone else walks into the cafeteria. They must have been sleeping somewhere else.

“Do you know what they’re talking about?” I ask her.

“Oh! Uuuuuum! Some stuff about the temp! Yeeeeah!” She nods excitedly.

“Maybe they...have a plan? For the uh...the broken AC and stuff,” Ravenclaw says.

“I hope so, this is becoming a massive problem...” I mumble.

Jason plops down next to me with a bowl of ice cream. It was already melting. Sacri sits across from us, next to Erika. Ishida sat by himself and Victor and Satoshi continued their talking.

Despite the uncomfortable warmth, sitting with a bunch of my friends for breakfast was...really nice. I enjoyed it. We all talked and ate for a while. When the heat became too much, we all split ways.

I went to the restaurant, wanting to find something cool to enjoy without it melting. The floor was at room temperature. Ravenclaw was there as well, seemingly with a similar idea.

Ravenclaw quietly sips at a tall glass of iced tea. He noticed me as I entered and waved hesitantly. I smile a bit and go sit in front of him.

“H-Hey there...uh...did you want a drink?” Ravenclaw didn’t meet my eyes. I could tell since he kept his head tipped down a little. All this time and he was as socially awkward as ever.

“Yeah, a drink sounds great right now. The cafeteria was way too uncomfortable...”

Ravenclaw nods and orders me a lemonade. It arrives, filled with ice and looking nicely chilled.

I take a sip. It was cool and felt like heaven. I happily begin to drink the glass.

I spend time cooling down with Ravenclaw. The two of us grew a little closer today.

I look at Ravenclaw as he drank his lemonade. The straw disappeared into the zipper of his mask and I couldn’t see much else from there. I could smell the vanilla and lilacs again.

“You really don’t need to be wearing that mask,” I say offhandedly.

Ravenclaw looks up at me. “H-Huh?”

“We’ve all seen your face and you know it’s safe to have it off.”

Ravenclaw gently drums his fingers on the table. “U-U-Um...”

“And it could be a good step to help you with your—“

“M-My problem?” he says.

“Oh...I-I wasn’t going to word it like that!” I say quickly.

“No, it’s okay, I-I know it...I have issues...”

“Ravenclaw, I really didn’t mean it like that. Honest! You just need to relax....”

He looks away and puts his hands in his lap. “I-I’m Sorry...you’re right...”

I reach over the table to pat his shoulder. I felt him tense under my touch and shrink back a little. I pull my hand away.

“You’re uh...You’re just worried...I don’t blame you...” he murmurs. “I just get so freaked out and...stuff...”

“Yeah, I know. I shouldn’t have asked you something so insensitive anyway,” I assure him.

Ravenclaw smiles a tiny bit then zips up his mask. “Thanks...um...maybe next time I’ll give it a shot.”

Ravenclaw gets up from the table and gives me a hesitant wave before he leaves the room.

I sigh gently. I should be gentler when talking with Ravenclaw next time. He’s a very fragile person...not like that was a bad thing! Ugh...

I get up and leave the room. The floor was getting a little warmer.

I went to the second floor. It was blazing hot and I almost decided not to stay around until I spotted Sacri in the karaoke room.

I walk over to talk with them. They were singing...something. It wasn’t in any language I knew. It sounded like a deep, guttural animalistic noise. It was very disturbing.

“Sacri, What are you Uh...doing?” I wasn’t sure how to word my question.

They still their singing and look at me. “Ah, I was just practicing my hymns. I know that...that I am unworthy, but I don’t really know any other songs.”

I walk over and look at the karaoke machine. It...was programmed with their hymns in it judging by the mess of words on the screen. Why was it in there?

“I can try to help you find some different songs. Maybe seething in a different pitch...”

Sacri perks up a little and smiles. “Yes. That sounds wonderful! I would love to do so!”

I smile a bit and begin flipping through the songs. Sacri watches curiously. I spend time helping Sacri find something to sing. The two of us grew a bit closer today.

“I should be distancing myself from my brethren, shouldn’t I?” they ask me while we go through the song playlist.

I look at them before looking away. “Oh...well...”

“It is not healthy...is it? And unsafe?” They look at me, expecting an answer.

“...I...yeah. It’s not safe,” I say. “I don’t think it’s healthy for you.”

“Everyone who’s saying they are a cult...they are telling the truth, yes?”

I hesitate a little. “...yeah, Sacri, they are.”

They sigh softly and cross their arms. “I see...”

They looked pretty best up over it. They just have been thinking about this for some time now. “I’m sorry, Sacri.”

“No, you shouldn’t be,” they assure. “It’s for the best that I understand this, yes? I shouldn’t be associating with this group...”

I look at them. Sacri look so distraught over the simple thought of abandoning their religion. And...I don’t think I could blame them. It was their entire life. Everything about themselves was based on this one thing and now they were just going to leave it all behind? It must have been hard.

“I’ll be here for you, Okay?” I tell them. “I’ll help you. You’re my friend.”

Sacri looks at me. Then they smile softly. “I trust you will be. Thank you, Ark.”

Sacri gets up. “This room is becoming uncomfortable to sit in.” Were they talking about the heat or the heavy weight in the air right now. “I’ll be seeing you later, my friend. Farewell.” They walk off.

I sigh quietly and leave as well. I hope Sacri will be alright on their own.

I went to the classroom after some time. The room was a little chilly, but withstandable. Satoshi was in the room, scribbling away at the whiteboard in the room. It was covered in equations and words that meant very little to me.

“Hey, what’s all this?” I ask.

Satoshi squeaks and jumps, clearly surprised by me. He turns around, trying to block the board with his body. “It’s a surprise!”

“Satoshi, I’ve already seen the board and it means nothing to me. I can’t understand any of it,” I tell him.

Satoshi smirks and puts his hands on his hips. “Haha! Of course someone like you wouldn’t! This is far too complicated for the mind of someone so simple!”

“Right...” At some point I was just going to start ignoring the way he spoke to me. It shouldn’t take too long.

“Well, do you wanna take a break?” I ask him. “We can hang out or something. Looks like you’ve been at this for a while.”

Satoshi looks back at the board then back to me. He shrugs and sets the marker down. “Yeah! Let’s go ahead and do that!”

I smile a tiny bit and nod. I spend time taking a break with Satoshi. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“Have you always been this skilled with your work?” I ask after a moment. The two of us had been struggling for conversation for some time, so I decide the best thing to do is have Satoshi talk about himself.

“Hm? Oh, of course! Haha! I’ve always had a thing for making stuff!” He grins, seemingly proud of himself.

“That’s pretty cool. I guess you were meant for this then.”

“Definitely! Why, I like to say I was built to build! Haha!”

I’m not surprised he would say something like that. Must be an inventor joke. Although I did have an idea now

“Have you ever made anything not based on video games?”

“Hm? Duh! But public image is always helpful! I can make whatever I want, but I love making video games become reality! It’s just my gimmick for selling my inventions! Haha!”

That made sense to me. Sounded like it was just a marketing plan and it must work to make him so popular. “Have you ever planned on making a video game?”

Satoshi pauses and blinks. “Uh...haha! Nike of your business!”

“Is that a yes..?”

“Haha! Shut up!”

I guess Satoshi didn’t want to talk about this. Whatever his reasoning was, I doubted I’d get more out of him on a subject like that.

“I think I’m going to get back to work. Yes, a great idea. Bye bye! Haha!” Satoshi gets up and returns to the whiteboard. That was my signal to go. It was getting warm anyway.

I head to the elevator in time for the nighttime announcement to ring out across the building. I sigh gently and take it back up to the top floor so I could go to my room and sleep.

I noticed the top floor was now a little nippy as I got to my room. I get ready for bed and pull my blanket around myself. Hopefully I wouldn’t get hot by morning.

I close my eyes and sigh softly. Whatever Victor and Satoshi were doing had to work. Maybe it would help...but I wasn’t sure...

I fall asleep and dream of warm things for the night.


	34. Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer... - Daily Life Part III

I wake up the next day to the morning announcement and another heat spell. My blanket had been tossed onto the floor by now and I was still sweaty. I sigh and get out of bed. I had to change out of my clothes quickly and take an ice cold shower. Once I was ready for the day, I left my room.

I went to the cafeteria and got breakfast as usual, settling for a chilled bowl of cereal. I sit at my usual spot with Ravenclaw, Sacri, and Jason and begin to eat.

Victor and Satoshi were back to chatting again. They seemed to be getting a little more aggressive about it, jabbing at each other or gesturing wildly at the papers they had scattered around them. At any rate, Erika joined us for breakfast again. Ishida sat by himself.

Erika was pouting as she watched Satoshi and Victor begin to bicker over something or other. “They don’t even like each otheeeeer!”

“I think it’s a greater good situation,” Sacri says. “They have the most experience with technology, so it would make sense the two of them would work together in order to try and solve our dilemma.”

I look over at the two of them. They’re arguing was getting louder and easier to hear.

“It means something!” Satoshi demands. “How can you be so blind?!”

“This is so stupid! Stop it with the conspiracy theories and get back to the thermodynamics!” Victor snaps back

“You’re missing the bigger picture! Something is going on and you just can’t see it!”

“All I see is work not getting done! So sit your ass down at help me!”

Satoshi scowls before sitting down and returning to his work in a defiant silence. Victor gets back to work, too. Ishida was watching the two along with me.

“Soooooo weird...” Erika mumbles.

“We...really shouldn’t bug them...” Jason says softly. He had his eyes trained on the ground. The yelling must be upsetting him.

“Hm...I know!” Erika grapples onto Jason’s arm. “Let’s go pet Fluffyyyyyy!”

Jason perks up a little then smiles. “Yeah!” The two get up and leave the room together in a hurry.

Ishida stands up and leaves the room a moment after they did.

I finished my food and went to the kitchen to deal with the dishes. The room was getting cooler and easier to be in.

When I left the kitchen, Satoshi and Victor had wandered off with their project. Ravenclaw and Sacri were gone as well. I didn’t have anything actually planned today, so I decide it would be good to go relax with some of the others. I head out of the room.

I wanted to go check on Sacri. After yesterday, they didn’t seem to be in the best place right now. I had to go to their room to find them, seeing as how they weren’t in any other part of he building. I knock on the door and wait for an answer.

After a moment, I hear a “come in” from the other side of the door. I open it and walk into the room.

Sacri was seated on their bed, holding their knife. They twirl it gently in their hands, staring at it absentmindedly until I cleared my throat. They look up from what they were doing.

“Oh, Ark, a pleasure to see you as always.” They set the knife down on their nightstand. I think I was a little more comfortable without them holding it. In a place like this, anyone holding a knife is a little worrying.

“Yeah, same to you,” I respond. “I just came to check up on you and make sure you were feeling alright.”

Sacri was quiet for a moment before sighing gently. “If I may be brutally honest, no, I am not doing alright.”

“I didn’t really expect it...” I murmur.

“But your concern is very heartwarming. If you would like to relax here and accompany me for some time, I may feel a tad better.”

I nod a little and sit down on their bed. “Sure thing, Sacri.” I spend time giving Sacri company. The two of us grew a little closer today.

“Ark, can I speak with you about something that has been on my mind?” Sacri asks after we had been sitting in relative silence for some time.

I look at them. Sounded serious. “Yeah, of course we can.”

“I am worried about what I will do if I...when I try to enter natural society. As you might expect, I have been pampered for much of my life. As much as I tried to find some kind of independence, there are still many things a person my age can do that I have yet to understand. And I will also have to enter the workforce, yes? I’ve never had to supply for myself before.”

“You’re worried you won’t be able to handle growing up on your own, right?”

Sacri pauses before nodding. “Yes, exactly.”

“Sacri, I’ll be honest, I don’t think most people do. Everyone is more or less faking their way through life and hoping no one else notices.”

Sacri frowns, looking dejected. “That sounds rather depressing...”

“Not everyone gets to be born with some kind of higher purpose or anything. Most people are just normal, average people trying to get through life the best they can.”

“And what is to happen to those that fail to meet the quota and fall behind the herd? What happens to one then?” They had an extremely serious look on their face. I could feel their golden eye trying to pierce its way into me with its gaze. They wanted an answer and a brutally honest one at that.

“...people that don’t usually don't end up well,” I say. “But I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

They tilt their head. “Hm? Why is that?”

“Because you have me and the others to help. I’m sure if we all put our heads together, we can help you make up for lost time. We’ll be there for you, so don’t worry.”

Sacri was quiet for a moment, clearly deep in thought. And then they hug me tightly. I was a little surprised by the suddenness of it. I slowly hug them back.

“Ark, I...I...thank you. For being my friend. For helping me. I owe you my life...” they say softly.

“Of course, Sacri. But you don’t have to owe me anything. I don’t want that kind of responsibility.”

“...of course. How silly of me.” They sit up, letting me go. “But really...thank you.”

I smile gently and stand up. “Yeah, no problem. I’ll leave you to it. Come see me if you ever need it.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

They lay down again, looking more content. I leave their room, which was getting notably warmer. I felt like I had a better understanding of Sacri now.

Entering the nurse’s office, I saw Ravenclaw fumbling around with a bottle of medication. He was trying to get the cap off, but his hands were shaking too badly.

“Hey, Ravenclaw, are you alright?” I ask him.

He screams in surprise and drops the bottle on the ground. The was in his hand still, so hedjnallygot it open. But now pills were scattered about everywhere.

“L-L-Look at what you m-m-m-made me d-do!” he yells at me. Something must really be upsetting him.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Is something wrong..?”

“Y-Y-Yes! Something v-v-very, v-very wrong!”

“Okay, Ravenclaw, you need to relax. Let’s sit down.” I try to take him over to a bed but he smacks my hand away.

“D-D-Don’t fucking t-touch me! Y-Y-You’re infected!”

I frown a little. “Alright, it's time to time down the crazy! Take some deep breaths and let’s just clean up the mess. Then we can talk.”

Ravenclaw was quiet for a moment before taking several deep, long, shaky breaths. “...o-okay...”

Ravenclaw slowly walks over to me and begins to collect the pills. I spend time helping Ravenclaw clean up his mess. The two of us grew a little closer today.

We got all the pills picked up. Ravenclaw refuses to of them back into the bottle, so we had to pitch them all.

“I think there’s still a couple that never fell out if you want to give it a try,” I say.

Ravenclaw was quiet for a moment before snatching the bottle from my hand and gently tipping two into his gloved hand. He unzips his mask and tosses them into his mouth, swallowing them dry.

“Do you want to explain to me what’s going on now?” I ask.

Ravenclaw was quiet for a moment. “...I-I’m sick...my throat is itchy and my head hurts and I keep sweating...”

“...Ravenclaw, you’re dressed in heavy black and the rookm is like a hundred degrees.” It was true. The room as of right now was swelteringly hot.

He looks at me. “A-Are you saying...it’s just the heat..?”

“Yeah. You need to take some of that stuff off before you collapse from heat exhaustion.”

“B-But...what if I really d-do get sick?! I think I’ll take my chances...”

“Ravenclaw, come on. This is bad for your health!”

He backs up, closing his coat around himself protectively. “S-So is taking any of this off! I-I-I’ll get s-sick and d-d-die just like they s-say!”

I frown a little. “They? Ravenclaw, who’s telling you that?”

“M-M-My mom and d-dad! Th-They’ve been tr-tr-trying to keep me safe from d-d-disease ever since my brother d-died!”

So...that was it. None of this was because of Ravenclaw. His paranoid parents made him just as paranoid with constant worrying. I don’t think I can blame them for being so scared of losing heir other son, by seeing what’s happened to Ravenclaw because of it...

“As the SHSL Epidemiologist, you know how Disease spreads, don’t you?” I ask him.

“W-Well...yes, of course!” He seemed wary of my questions.

“Then you know that it doesn’t work the way you think it does right now, don’t you?”

“Wh-What are you g-g-getting at..?”

“You aren’t going to catch be bubonic plague just because I touched your shoulder or you ate after someone else or you breathed in the same air as me. Not a single person here has gotten sick, have they?”

Ravenclaw looks away. “W-Well...”

“And you’ve gotten all your vaccinations, right?”

“I’d be st-stupid not to...”

“Then you don’t have anything to worry about. Your parents...I think they were just so scared of losing you that they pushed you too hard. But you’re not going to get sick and drop dead in an instant. And if you do get sick, me and the others will be sure to nurse you back to health.”

Ravenclaw was quiet for a bit. Then he slowly removes his large coat, folding it over his arm. He takes off his hat and removes his scythe and takes his mask off and gloves. He was very slow and meticulous about it. He sets everything down on a bed nearby. He looked sweaty but fine.

Ravenclaw looks at me and smiles gently. “I think...I want to try breathing fresh air for a while...well uh, as fresh as it gets here. So...thanks.”

Ravenclaw bends down to pull my into a hug. I smile a tiny bit and hug him back. “Yeah, no problem, buddy.”

He lets go of me after a minute...and then pulled out some hand sanitizer and uses it. Guess it’ll take him a bit to truly get over his problems.

“Oh, and, by the way...my name’s Benji. Benji Hanamura. If uh...If you cared...”

I smile lightly. “Of course I care.”

Benji smiles back and collects his things. “It was nice meeting you officially...um...g-goodbye.” He waves to me as he walks out of the room. I felt like I understood Benji a little better now.

I entered the pool and saw Jason there. The room was at room temperature, so he just had his feet dipped into the water at the moment. His ratty old tennis shoes sat next to him. He didn’t have his mask on at least.

I walk over to him. “Hey, Jason. Chilling out here?”

I walk over to join him, taking off my shoes and dipping my feet into the water with him. “Hey there, Jason.’

Jason looks at me and his face lights up. He smiles happily and waves to me. “Hello, Ark!”

“Hanging out at the pool, huh? It’s nice here right now, I guess.”

Jason nods softly in agreement, looking at his face in the water. He frowns a tiny bit and looks away again.

I look at him and notice how upset he looked. Maybe I should get him to cheer up. And I had an idea.

I head over to where the pool toys were being kept and pull out a long pool noodle. I come up behind Jason and gentyl smack him in the back of the head with it. “Hey, you’re it!”

Jason looks back at me in surprise. Then he smiles wide and yanks the pool noodle from my hands. “Now you’ll get it!”

Jason gets up and I run off, having him chase after me. I spend time playing games with Jason. The two of us grew a little closer today.

The two of us tire ourselves out running around and playing. The room had gotten a little cooler by now, so dipping out feet back into the chilly water felt nice for the moment. Jason seemed to be more relaxed, as well. Until he looked back into the water. He frowned upon seeing his face again and it looks like I was back to the original problem.

“Jason, is everything okay?” I ask him. “You seem upset.”

“Just looking at my stupid face...” he murmurs, gently tracing a bruise with his fingers.

“Does it make you think of something bad?” That was honestly a really stupid question, but I wanted to know what he would say.

“Dad says I look like Mom...so I see her when I look at it...” He gently smacks his own cheek and huffs. “And I don’t like it...”

“I thought you loved your mom.”

“I-I do! “ He looks up quickly. “It’s just...Dad gets upset when he thinks about her...and he thinks about her when he sees my face. So he gets angry...”

That must be why Jason was so banged up. I can imagine his dad must be as upset about what happened as he was, but the way it was being handled was inexcusable.

“You shouldn’t be angry to see your own face.”

“But it makes my dad angry.” He hugs his legs to his chest gently.

“Screw your dad, Jason! Forget what he thinks! He treats you like garbage, you shouldn’t be worrying over what he has to say!”

Jason frowns and looks down. “B-But what if he—“

“I won’t let him do anything,” I say. “If you ever need to confront him or do something, I’ll be there with you and I’ll make sure the others will, too. You don’t have to do it alone. I’m here for you. We all are.”

Jason was quiet for a moment. Then he slowly uncurls from his position and pulls me into a very tight hug. It squeezed the air out of me for a second, leaving me to only wheeze in response.

Jason held the hug for a moment and I heard him sniffle. I pat his back gently and he let me go. I suck in a deep breath and let it out.

Jason was crying quietly, but I don’t think it was because he was upset. “Th-Thanks, Ark...” He sniffles and wipes his face.

I smile gently and pat his arm. “Hey, it’s no problem, big guy. Anything for you.”

Jason hugged me again, gentler this time, and I hugged him back. He let go and grabbed his shoes, walking out of the room. I felt like I had a better understanding of Jason now.

The pool was freezing cold by the time I was leaving it. If I was right, the top floor would be sweltering. So I decide to look for somewhere else to sleep.

I enter the nurse’s office, knowing there were a few beds in there. But the three beds were being occupied by Jason, Victor, and Satoshi. So that was my idea shot.

There wasn’t really anywhere else to sleep comfortably. I had no choice but to go up to the top floor and go into my blazing hot room.

I do everything I could to keep myself cool as I get into bed. I’d just have to hope the room chilled out by the morning. I had no idea how right I’d be.

I fell asleep for the night at some point in the horrid heat, dreaming of endless deserts and blazing suns through the night.


	35. Chapter 5: You're Getting Warmer... - Killing Life Investigation

I wake up to the morning announcement as usual. My room felt normal. Not too hot, not too cold...now I wanted some porridge.

I get out of bed and get myself ready for the day. I was a little sweaty from the gets of the night but a quick shower fixed that. Once I was ready, I head out of the room and to the cafeteria.

Today, it seemed just about everyone was in the cafeteria. Ishida was on his own as usual, calmly polishing his sword. Jason, Benji, and Sacri were all sitting together. The all had their faces in full view and were talking calmly to one another. Erika was sitting with Victor, who was tapping a pencil on the table as he looked over some papers. Someone was missing...

“Hey guys, where’s Satoshi?” I ask after a moment of surveying the room.

“That’s what I want to know!” Victor demands. “We still have work to do and the bastard couldn’t even be bothered to show up to breakfast!”

“Wasn’t he sleeping in the nurse’s office with you and Jason?” I ask.

Jason nods. “Yeah, he was...he was gone when we woke up.”

“He’s probably still throwing a tantrum,” Victor grumbles.

“A tantrum? Over what?” Ishida asks calmly, not looking up from his polishing. “Did you two have a fight?”

“Yeah, we did. He had different ideas about the crazy temperatures. But when we started talking about how to power our machine, we got into a fight and we split ways.”

“It woke me up...” Jason mumbles uncomfortably.

Victor sighs deeply. “Yeah, Sorry, big guy...anyway, I had gone up to the lab for the rest of the night. Fell asleep there.”

“Jason, did you come from the nurse’s office then?” Benji asks him.

Jason nods a little. “It felt nice in there.”

“Nice? Liiiiiike, room temperature nice?” Erika asks him.

He nods. “Mhmm!”

I frown a tiny bit. “Victor, did you actually search for Satoshi..?”

He shakes his head a bit. “I...got hungry. I came here first.”

I wasn’t feeling very hungry right now myself. “Where would he be? Where we you guys going to test this invention out?’

“Probably the pool. We needed the water.” 

I nod. “I’ll be right back.” I hurry out of the room. Some of the others followed behind me but I didn’t mind. It might be for the best...

I get into the elevator with Benji, Sacri, and Victor. We take it down to the bottom floor. Not once did the temperature in the small space change.

We reached the bottom floor and everyone spills out. The room felt normal like all the rest. We hurry to the pool.

As I threw open the door, I was blasted with a wave of heat from inside the room. For whatever reason, it was still hot. I could hear the sound of,,,boiling water?

Everyone hurries inside. The pool water was at a strong boil, bubbles rapidly rising in the hot water. And something was being pushed around inside...

I move over to the edge before anyone could stop me and look inside. Inside the pool...was Satoshi, his limp body being tossed around by the scalding water. I let out a loud scream and fall back from the edge. The other three look into the water and the body discovery announcement plays.

That meant it was too late. There was nothing we could do. We weren’t able to stop this. Satoshi Wright, the SHSL Inventor, was dead.

**New Killing Life - Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer...**

“Someone...Someone really did it..?” Benji asks softly.

“Evidently,” Ishida says as he arrives with Jason and Erika in tow.

“Why is the room so hot still?” Victor asks curiously. “If every other room is normal again, why is it still hot in here?”

“It’s probably preserving the murder space,” Sacri comments. “Meaning this room was hot to begin with when Satoshi died.”

I didn’t like how calmly everyone was talking about this. Someone was dead and they were talking about the damn weather! I sigh deeply and walk over to the pool. There was nothing I could do to get him out without hurting myself or dying in the process. How could someone..?

“...hey, Ark?” I heard Benji say. I look back at him. Everyone was watching me quietly. How long I had been staring into the pool?

“Are you uh...” He stops and seems to rethink his question. “...we should um...pr-probably start investigating.”

I nod softly in silence. No time to mourn or grieve or even think. Just time to investigate. Not like anyone cared. I start looking around the room, which was enough to get everyone else to begin their investigation as well.

It was difficult to see the condition of the body with it out there in the boiling water. But I could see that there was blood in the water along with some splattered on the side of the pool. Guess it wasn’t an accident...

There was a strange contraption in the room. Two large hoses were going into the pool water and were probably supposed to be taking it out and putting it back in. But the machine was not working. A panel had fallen off and I could see that something went wrong inside. I’d shock myself if I decided to touch it though.

I notice there was something stuck to the door leading to the boy’s changing room. It was a golden tassel by the looks of things. It must have been stuck when the door closed and got pulled off of whatever it used to be on.

I go over to Jason while he was still in the room. “Hey, can you tell me more about the argument you heard last night?”

He nods a little. “I didn’t hear much...they were trying to be quiet...but Satoshi said something about using hot water and Victor wanted to use cold...and then he stormed out. Satoshi left a while later. Before he left, I thought I heard someone knocking...but I was fall in and out of sleep by then.”

They must have been arguing over how to use the machine. Victor mentioned that today. I should go talk to him more about it.

I walk over to Victor. “Hey, can you tell me more about your argument with Satoshi?”

He looks at me. “Oh, Yeah, guess so. We had gotten up pretty late to work more and the two of us started disagreeing over if we should power our machine over there with hot or cold water. Woke up Jason but I left before he said anything. I haven’t seen him since.”

I nod a bit. “You guys have been arguing for a couple days ago.”

“Annoying brat kept getting side tracked with pointless shit. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

I don’t think it didn’t matter, but Victor didn’t seem willing to share anymore at the moment. I’d have to figure out what was really going on some other way.

I decide to ask everyone else what they had been up to that night, but I got the usual answer. “I was asleep all night.” Except for one person.

“I was trying to taaaalk to the deaaaad!” Erika declares proudly.

“Were you trying to contact Damond?” I ask him.

She’s quiet for a moment. “I woulda been happy with anyone, really. But yeah.”

“And how were you doing that?’

“Ouuuuuuija board!’ She grins wide saying that. “I played with it in my room aaaall night loooong!”

Why would Erika do that in her room? It was boiling in there!

“Wait, so did you get any sleep?” I ask her.

“Not even a little!”

Poor sleeping habits aside, this might actually be very helpful. “Can you tell me when the room started cooling down?”

She tilts her head. “Mm...I wanna saaaaay...a few hours aaaafter the nighttime announcement! It got suuuuuper cold! I cuddled with Fluffy in my warm blaaaaanket!”

“And when did the cold go away?” I ask.

“Maybe an hour befoooooore everyone got up!”

I nod a bit. “Alright, thanks, Erika.”

I thinking I was beginning to understand the motive a little more. But I needed more time to think that over.

I go to the nurse’s office to look around. It was clear to me that all three had been sleeping here for some time at least. But there was something else here.

On the floor by where Satoshi was sleeping, there was a note. I pick it up and read it.

_You seem to be talking a bit too much again, Satoshi. We need to have a discussion. I’ll meet you at the pool.  
——-a_

A signature had been written, but someone tore the name off. I could only see the letter ‘a’ now. But it seems the killer had met Satoshi at the pool. He must have been planning it then.

I went to the science lab and saw there was clear evidence that Victor has been here. Papers with plans and equations were scattered around on a table and he had left some tools sitting out. At least he wasn’t lying.

Amongst the papers, I found the blueprints for the machine they were making. Apparently it was supposed to help change the temperature of the building and it needed water to do it—a lot. It’s not like we could see if it worked now.

I decided to take a peek into Erika’s bedroom. Her cat greeted me with a tired yawn as I walked in to snoop around.

Erika had her Ouija board stuffed under her pillow and her blanket was in a giant heap at the foot of the bed. I’d check under the blanket for anything, but the cat was curled up on top of it and I didn’t feel like disturbing him.

Looking around Erika’s room more uncovers a small journal. I didn’t want to invade her privacy, but it could help with the case. I decide to read only the past couple entries.

Erika spent the past couple days writing about Victor ignoring her over Satoshi. Sounds like she was jealous. She also mentions the Ouija board a couple times. The last entry read:

_I used the board for a while again. Still no contact. But I know he’s out there watching us. Everyone is. This will all end soon, I know it. Ark is here to save us. That’s what everyone thinks._

I was here to...save them? What was that supposed to mean? I don’t think I understood right now, but it didn’t seem helpful to the trial. I close Erika’s journal and put it back where I found it in time for the trial announcement to play. I sigh and head to the elevator.

I get into the elevator with everyone else. As usual, once we were all on, it rockets downward at incredible speed. But everyone was prepared for it this time and no one fell over when we came to our sudden halt.

This was it. Another gruesome trial for another murder. But this time, the looming threat of a traitor among us filled the air. I don’t think I’d ever be prepared for what this trial had in store. The doors slide open and everyone steps out. The fifth class trial has begun!


	36. Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer... - Killing Life Trial Part I

Everyone makes their way to their respective podiums. Methuselah and Satoshi had been added as portraits now. Methuselah has a line going across his neck. Satoshi’s appeared normal, at least.

I look away from them again to focus back in on everyone else. There was only seven left. Ten people were dead. And there would be another to follow...

“Let’s begin with the body,” Ishida says. 

“It’s was pr-pretty hard to g-get a look at it,” Benji murmurs. “None of us could uh...could reach him.”

“Someone put him in the pool just to make sure we couldn’t reach him,” Victor grumbles. “That’s some of the most important evidence!”

“Well, I think we can be sure it was falling into the pool that killed him,” Ishida says calmly.

“No, we can’t say that yet,” I step in.

“Hm? Are you saying I’m wrong?” Ishida asks.

“Well...not entirely. But you’re looking over some important evidence that was in the room.”

“Care to elaborate, Ark?”

I nod. “Right. There was blood in the room. It was a the edge of the pool and inside of it.”

“It wasn't just one of Erika’s blood rituals again, was it?” Sacri asks.

Erika puffs out her cheeks. “Geez, I don’t do them thaaaaat often!”

“I think it’s safe to assume it was Satoshi’s blood,” Victor says. “Meaning he didn’t just fall in or something. He had to have been attacked!”

“At least we know we’re d-dealing with a uh...a murder...” Benji mumbles glumly.

“It is good we know that,” Ishida says. “It points us toward the right suspects.”

“Was there anything else odd about the room?” Sacri asks. “Anything at all?”

“There was that...weird machine,” Jason says. “It was hooked up to the pool.”

“That was what me and Satoshi had been working on for the past few days,” Victor says. “It was supposed to change the temperature using the water in the pool as a coolant.”

“So it was like a giant air conditioner and heater,” I say.

“That was the idea. But me and Satoshi got into an argument over using hot and cold water. Guess he decided to go use the hot water while I tried figuring things out. Dumbass...”

“Wasn’t it broken though?” Benji asks. “I-I mean...um...I wouldn't know but...it just looked like it wasn’t working.”

“It was,” Victor confirms. “The thing was shot. Might as well be someone’s modern art project now.”

“Do you know what might have done it?” I ask him.

“I think it might have been the hot water,” Victor says. “It probably blew out some stuff on the inside and broke it.”

“Well sooooooomeone tried to fix it,” Erika says. “After all, they had to take off the cover!”

“She has a point,” Ishida says. “Someone had to fix it.”

“If Satoshi broke it, then he would obviously try to repair it,” Sacri says. “So perhaps he was attacked while distracted.”

“But there wasn’t any blood by the machine,” I say. “It was by the pool.”

“But Satoshi would have to be the one to repair it,” Victor says. “Especially if his dumbass broke it!”

“Victor, I think he was already dead by then.”

“Oh, and how are you gonna prove it, huh? How are you gonna prove that to me?!”

It seems like Victor was firing himself up. I didn’t have a choice here. I’d have to get through to him.

“Don’t you get it?”

“Satoshi broke the machine!

“Meaning he had to fix it!”

“Maybe if he knew, but I think he died before that,” I say. “If he isn’t the one who did it, someone else had to.”

“Of course it was Satoshi!”

“He’s the only one who would be able to fix it!!”

“And he was the only one there!”

Ah, there it was! The flaw to his logic! “I’ll cut your words down!” I shout.

Victor scowls. “Excuse me?!”

“Satoshi wasn’t the only person in the room. The killer was also present,” I explain. “So if Satoshi was dead and the machine was broken, it would make sense for them to try to fix it.”

“I don’t understand why the killer would fix it...” Benji says. “It was...I mean, uh...the moticed ended once Satoshi died, yeah?”

“It did, but the room was still blazing hot, remember? The killer wouldn’t know the motive was over until they left the room.”

“Oooh! That makes sense!” Erika says cheerily.

“Wasn't there also a tassel in the room?” Sacri asks. “I distinctly remember seeing one.”

“Oh, yeah, it got caught on the changing room door!” Victor says.

“Does anyone want to fess up to owning it?” Ishida questions. There was no answer from the group.

“Well, that at least proves it’s helpful for the case,” I murmur to myself. “Anyway, maybe we should talk about other rooms now.”

“Actually, I want to know more about last night if you don’t mind,” Sacri interrupts. “I had noticed Satoshi, Jason, and Victor all in the same room for the night while I was searching for a place to sleep.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Victor says. “The three of us hogged the nurse’s office. You got a problem with that?”

“They woke me up with their arguing...” Jason mumbles.

“Arguing?” Benji repeats. “Hm...w-well uh...that’s a little suspicious...”

“Oh c’mon, I can’t yell at the twerp? He had been getting on my nerves since we started working together!”

“You’re not making a better case for yourself,” Ishida points out.

“What? Are you implying I’m the killer?”

“We’re implying you’re the number one suspect.”

“Don’t drag me into this,” I say. “I never agreed to that.”

“But it does make sense,” Ishida goes on. “He was arguing with Satoshi for a couple days now. He knew where he’d be working and if Satoshi would be there. So it makes sense that he would-”

“No,” Erika says tonelessly.

The others look at her. “What was that?” Ishida asks.

“I said no!” she yells. “We’re not doing this again! Leave Victor aloooone!”

“I agree with Erika,” I say. “Victor doesn’t seem to be the killer.”

“Mm...it does seem a little early to point fingers,” Benji mumbles.

“Well what evidence do you have pointing to the contrary?” Ishida asks me.

“Victor told me he went to the science lab all night. There’s plenty there to show he’s not lying about that.”

“It’s quite clear he could kill and then go there, you know.”

“But there’s also the machine,” I say. “Victor helped build it. He’d know how to repair it and have the tools on hand.”

Ishida is quiet for a moment before nodding. “I suppose so, yes.”

Erika sighs in relief.

“There was something in the nurse’s office though,” I say. “A note was on the floor. It was summoning Satoshi to the pool, so I think that was why he really went there.”

“A note? Did it say anything important?” Jason asks.

“It said Satoshi had been talking to much and the two of them needed to talk.”

“Satoshi always talks too much,” Victor says. “But I don’t know what that means specifically.’

Honestly, I didn’t either. Something Satoshi had been talking about that was upsetting the killer. I needed to figure out what it was. I had to think.

_What has Satoshi been talking about?_

He was being vague, but an unknown meant something.

_What could he have been talking about?_

Something related to the killer.

_Who’s the most likely traitor_

The traitor would have to be.

_What was related to them?_

The motive was.

My eyes light up. “I’ve got the answer!” I say.

“Want to share with the class?” Victor asks.

“Satoshi was talking about the motive. That’s what you and him kept fighting about, right, Victor?”

“Uh...yeah. He was saying it has a meaning. I didn’t know what he was going on about.”

“B-But wasn’t the motive only for the traitor?” Benji asks.

“No, not that motive. The temperature. I think there was a meaning behind it...”

“God, not you, too!” Victor says.

“Just listen to me! I think there was a meaning behind it! The motive had a purpose, I’m sure of it.”

I had to be sure of it. This could be the missing piece of the puzzle to solving this thing.


	37. Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer... - Killing Life Trial Part I

“So what did this motive mean?” Ishida asks me.

“I’m...not entirely sure,” I admit.

“Well then why are you blabbing?!” Victor demands. “Christ!”

“Maybe he has a point to make,” Sacri says. “I think we should take a chance and go with it. Together we may be able to decide the answer.”

“Well, the motive was aaaaall about the traitor,” Erika says.

“Could that be related to the temperature somehow?” Benji ponders.

“But Monokuma said the temperature was just a malfunction...” Jason mumbles.

“Monokuma is clearly just a liar,” I say.

“Hey, I’m not a foundering salmon! I can hear you!” Monokuma says.

“Good!” I snap angrily. I was on my last strings of patience for that damn bear!

“Anyway, I don’t yet see how throes two things correlate,” Ishida says.

He was right. So far, I haven’t figured it how they fit together. But I think I was getting close.

“Monokuma said that the traitor didn’t have long before they would be discovered, right?” I ask.

“Something also those lines, I believe,” Sacri comments.

“Maybe the motive was hinting toward who the traitor was and Satoshi was figuring it out.”

“That’s stupid!” Victor demands. “It was fucking temperature! You sound crazy!”

“That’s a lot coming from you...” Benji murmurs.

“Up yours, Bird Brain!”

“I agree with Victor,” Ishida says. “It sounds preposterous.”

“Victor’s right about a looot of things!” Erika agrees.

“So is Ark,” Sacri interjects. “I believe in him.”

Benji nods in agreement. “S-So do I!”

“Yeah!” Jason cheers.

“Even people that are right all the time can be wrong!” Victor demands.

“You’re just being stubborn!” I snap.

“Hm...it appears we’re split down the middle,” Ishida says.

I felt tempted to just vote for myself and end it now. I absolutely hated this stupid thing.

“Did someone say split down the middle?!” Monokuma asks giddly. “That means it’s time to use the all new Terramorphing Trial Grounds!”

“We don’t need the damn thing!” I shout. “Give us like five minutes to work this out!”

Monokuma continues to ignore my complaints as he presses the small button on his chair. Everyone gets locked into their podiums and goes flying around he Trial room until two groups stood facing each other.

“In today’s trial, we’ll be debating over if the malfunctioning heating was a way to find the traitor or if it was just broken ventilation! The group saying traitor is: Ark, Jason, Ravenclaw, and the cloaked thing! The group saying ventilation is: Ishida, Victor, and Erika! So, let the debates begin!”

Ishida slid forward first. “Monokuma said it himself! There was a malfunction! That’s all!”

Sacri collides with him. “We cannot trust everything the bear says! Blindly believing him is dangerous!”

Victor slides up. “If me and Satoshi could fix the problem, then it’s pretty clear it wasn’t on purpose!”

I crash with him. “But you guys didn’t fix the problem! Your machine broke before it was ever tested!”

Erika went up next. But it all seemed sooooo random! So it had to be broken!”

Ravenclaw was against her. “N-No! Uh...I-I mean...that’s not true! There c-could have been a p-pattern...I think it ch-changed depending on the people!”

Ishida slides up again. “How can you possibly claim something like that while barely understanding what we’re talking about?!”

Jason goes up against him. “If we just pool all our knowledge together...we can figure things out!”

Victor comes up next. “You all sound crazy talking about stuff like this!”

I was against him. “Nothing is crazy about this, Victor! It’s the only reason Satoshi would be targeted! He figured it out before any of us!”

The two groups push and fight against one another, trying to gain dominance. Engines rev loudly and it almost felt like a stalemate. But eventually, the other group backs off and we force them back. “This is the answer we discovered together!” the four of us shout.

The podiums all go back to their usual placements. I sigh in relief. “Can we finally move on with the trial?”

“Ark is smarter than Victor!” Erika says, throwing her hands up in the air..

Victor scowls. “Hey!”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. Not the point I was trying to get across.

“So then, can you tell us what the motive is meant to mean?” Ishida asks me

“Oh, well uh...” What was the point of the motive? There was a meaning behind it we hadn’t seen at first. But Satoshi manages to find out. And he died before he could tell any of us...he died so he couldn’t tell any of us...

“I...I don’t know yet...” I admit softly. “Give me time and I’ll figure it out.”

“Fine,” he says with a sigh. “For now, let's return to discussing actual evidence.”

“Ark, didn’t you mention a note?” Sacri asks. “Can you tell us anything important about it besides the message?”

“Huh? Oh, well um...” I think back to the note. There was something other than the message on it. “Ah, that’s right! Someone had signed it with their name, but tore most of it away. There was only an ‘a’ left.”

Sacri tilts their head a little. “Oh? Then I suppose that leaves us with two suspects.”

“And who would that be?” Victor asks.

“I Uh...I think it’s pretty clear,” Benji admits. “It’s Erika and Ishida.”

“Wait, What?!” Erika demands. “B-But I didn’t—!”

“I certainly didn’t do it,” Ishida says.

“I didn’t either!” Erika yells.

“What about you, Ravenclaw?” Jason asks. “You never gave us your real name...”

“E-Eh? Well um...” Benji fidgets nervously. Did he not tell anyone his name yet? “It’s um...I-It’s Benji...Hanamura...”

“Aha!” Victor yells. “That little bitch is the traitor! He’s just trying to pin it on poor Erika!”

Ishida clears his throat. Victor didn’t notice.

“Wh-What?!” Benji demands. “B-But I’m not tr-trying to! I j-just wanted to help!”

“Maybe it’s you!” Jason yells at Victor. “What if you’re the traitor?!”

“We already decides it wasn’t, dumbass!” Victor declares. “Keep up!”

“Leave him alone!” Sacri yells. “I’m getting sick of you!”

“Oh, so now the cultist is gonna start preaching, eh?”

“Leave Victor aloooone!”

“Why don’t you shut up, traitor?!”

“W-We all know it was you!”

“You’re one to talk!”

“The evidence is pointing to you!”

“You’re the traitor!”

“No, you are!”

“No, it’s you!”

Everyone was starting to argue and point fingers at each other. It was becoming an issue. I needed to think hard about who it could be. Surely one of them had more evidence than the oth—

“The motive was pointing to you the entire time and I know it!”

...what..? But how did..? No...of course. That’s it! The person that just said that...there’s no way they would unless...

“You’re the traitor!” I shout out loudly, pointing my finger at..!


	38. Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer... - Killing Life Trial Part III

Everyone had grown quiet after my accusation. They were all staring now at the person I just yelled at. The person I was certain to be the traitor

Ishida stood there, his face and body tense with my finger pointed directly at him. “Wh...What..?”

“You heard me,” I say. “You’re the traitor, Ishida.”

He grins nervously. “Is...Is this some kind of joke? Because this isn’t the time for comedy!”

“No, it’s not,” I say. “Do I have to repeat myself?”

“Well what proof do you have then? Huh? If you don’t have any, your accusation is just as empty as everyone else’s!”

“Let’s start with what you said a minute ago,” I say.

“What, when everyone was arguing?” Erika asks. “I didn’t hear anything weird.”

“It was hard to hear much of anything,” Sacri admits, “with everyone yelling the way they were.”

“I know what I heard,” I say. “Ishida yelled, and I quote, ‘the motive was pointing to you the entire time and I know it’.”

“S-So?” Ishida asks. “What does that prove?”

“We were just talking about how none of us know about what the motive was trying to say. You asked me yourself. None of us knew except for Satoshi and that’s why he died. So why do you suddenly know what the message of the motive was?”

Ishida frowns softly and simply stared at me.

“...answer the question,” Victor says. “How do you know?”

“...I...I figured it out while everyone was yelling,” he says finally. “That’s all.”

“Then I suppose you won’t mind my next question, will you?” I ask him.

Ishida was silent again, but that wasn’t going to stop me.

“What happened to your sword?”

He blinks. “There...There is nothing wrong with it!”

“Then you wouldn’t mind telling me where the tassel on the hilt of your sword went?”

Ishida said nothing again for a moment. “My what..?”

“The tassel. It’s missing.”

“Oh, he’s right!” Erika says quickly. “I remember it! Yeah!

“I...tore it off. After Methuselah had died,” he says hesitantly.

“Well, I don’t remember it being missing a couple days ago,” I say.

“If I recall, you were polishing your sword this morning,” Benji says.

“Oh, and what of it?!” Ishida demans, looking more and more angry.

“W-Well um...Satoshi had been stabbed before dying and–”

“We didn’t prove that!” Ishida yells angrily. “And none of this is definite evidence anyway!”

“Then what will it take, Ishida?!” I demand. “What will it take to make you admit it?!”

“You haven’t even said what the motive was doing!” he shouts, enraged. “Unless you can do that and prove it was aimed at me, everything you say is BULLSHIT!”

“I think I already know what it was, then!”

Ishida glares at me. He draws his sword, holding it out in a neutral stance. “Then prove it...”

I don’t think he was holding the sword to threaten me. I think it was so he could steady his shaking body and building rage. But I had to end this here. Even if I didn’t want to.

“The motive itself was—“

“ _You have nothing!_ ”

“—nothing but a—“

“ _I'll slice you down!_ ”

“—massive game of—“

“ _This is the end!_ ”

“—Hot and Cold!” I yell out.

“So what?! So what if it was?!” Ishida screams. “You haven’t proved that it was aimed at me! So shut your fucking trap!”

This was it. The final blow that needed to be dealt! “That’s where you’re wrong!” I yell.

Ishida tenses up. “Huh?!”

“No matter what room you were in, no matter where we saw you, the floor you were on we blazingly hot,” I say. “Does everyone agree with that?”

The other five nod in agreement with me, silent.

“Then that proves it,” I say. “Ishida Heiwa...you’re the traitor of this killing game!”

Ishida falls completely silent. His arms drop to his side and his sword falls, clattering loudly to the ground. “I...but you...this can’t...”

“Let’s wrap up this entire thing to make sure nothing is out of place,” I say.

“This whole thing starts with Satoshi. He must have begun to notice there was a pattern to the temperature shifts and was trying to figure it out. He wanted Victor’s help and explained it to him, but that only resulted in the two of them arguing in front of all of us. That was how the traitor knew someone was getting close and they had to act. They write a note for Satoshi, careful to sign it with his name and leave it for him the following night in the nurse’s office after he finishes arguing with Victor again, which had woken up Jason in the process. Satoshi went to the pool like the note instructed, but no one was there. The traitor was hiding in the changing rooms. Satoshi decides to use the time to test out the machine he was working on. But the hot water causes it to overheat and explode from the inside. The traitor used the distraction as a chance to strike. They probably didn’t notice the tassel on their sword get caught in the door as they left and had no time to free it, letting it snap off. The traitor stabs Satoshi with their sword, letting him fall back into the pool to make it harder to determine his cause of death. But the room didn’t cool down thanks to Monokuma trying to preserve the murder scene. So, the traitor panics and tries to fix the machine so they could change that, not having any idea things were back to normal everywhere else. The machine was too complicated for them to handle, resulting in them leaving the room. They most likely noticed things were normal again. They must have gone back to the nurse’s office to handle the note. I bet Jason was waking up after not sleeping much and in the panic, the traitor just ripped off their name and left. All they had to do then was feign innocence and clean their bloody sword waiting for everyone to get up. So, did I get it right, Ishida?!”

Ishida said nothing.

“So...So he’s right..?” Jason asks softly. “You’re the traitor..?”

Ishida looks down. His hands curl into fists. “This...This isn’t fair! I did everything he told me! I did all of his stupid chores!”

That was all we needed to hear. Ishida...was really working for the bear this entire time.

“I...I don’t understand why...” I say softly.

“Monokuma...he showed me something. Something I can never forget,” Ishida says softly. “It was all I needed...and I pray none of you ever have to see what I did.”

What did that mean? What could he have possibly seen? I only felt more confused than before now. This entire thing was giving me a headache.

“I did everything he said...I don’t understand why an of this happened...”

“What...What did he t-tell you to do? Benji asks him.

“I helped start and end the second motive with drugs. And he had me...mess with the murder scenes. And clean them up. And I did everything he told me!”

“Mess with the murder scenes?” I ask softly. Mess with them how? I didn’t understand...

“Monokuma said the two of you weren’t seeing eye to eye anymore,” Victor points out. “That’s why he—“

“Alright everyone, it’s voting time!” Monokuma cheers.

“Wait, But I wasn’t done asking my question!” Victor demands.

“Wah wah wah! Cry me a river! It’s time to vote! So, who’s the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?!”

“I...I don’t want to vote...” I say softly.

Monokuma looks at me and tilts his head. “Oh? You don’t?”

I shake my head slowly and grab onto my podium. I felt sick and disgusting. I couldn’t vote. I couldn’t want another execution. I couldn’t damn someone to death!

“Well...too bad!” Monokuma says. “If you don't vote, I’ll just execute you alongside the dirty traitor! Do ya want that, Ark? Do ya really?”

I didn’t. I slowly place my vote in. So did the others.

“Oh, I’m so excited! Let’s see the results!” Monokuma cheers. The scoreboard appears. Everyone dead had their face crossed out. Six votes pop up next to Ishida’s picture.

“Thaaaat’s right! Ishida Heiwa, the SHSL Samurai, is the killer and this game’s traitor! Total double whammy!”

“I can’t believe this...” Erika says softly. “You...really worked for the bear...”

“This is messed up,” Benji grumbles.

“You all would have done the same thing if you saw what I did!” Ishida yells. “Monokuma is a liar! Remember that, everyone! He lies about everything! Never trust a word from his mouth!”

“Well, that’s great and all, by lets see if you can trust this! It’s time to get the death ball rolling!”

“You can’t do this to me! It’s not fair! I did everything you told me to do! I—!”

“It’s PUNISHMENT TIIIIIIIME!” Monokuma slams the mallet down on the button.

All of our podiums locked us in. The screens light up, each one turning green with a happy Monokuma on it. But Ishida’s turns a deep red with a very angry Monokuma. All of our podiums go riding around the room quickly until we all watched in two rows as Ishida sat in the center of the room, facing the massive doors.

The engine on his podium revs loudly. The doors slowly slide open and Ishida speeds off. He screams loudly as he flies out of he room and into the dark tunnel, out of sight.

**Ishida Heiwa has been found guilty**

**Commencing the punishment...**

Ishida was kneeling down on a soft looking cushion, his hands resting on his knees. He shook lightly, out of either fear or rage. It was hard to tell.

A Monokuma drops down from the ceiling. He was dressed as a samurai as well, decked out in a cute little costume with a toy sword at his side. He draws t and points it at Ishida.

Ishida’s lips curl into a snarl. Hey gets to his feet and draws his own sword. Another Monokuma drops down next to the first. And then several more. And then Monokuma were pouring out of the ceiling, dropping down around Ishida. Each armed with a toy sword and ready to fight him. And he was ready to fight back!

**The Noble Swordsman of Despair and Deceit**

Ishida raises his sword and strikes at the Monokuma directly in front of him. His sword cuts through it cleanly and it disappears in a puff of smoke. It...wasn’t real..?

Ishida swings again at another Monokuma and the same thing happens. He’s cut cleanly in half and disappears into a puff of smoke. A wide grin spreads across his face. Not real...they weren’t real...this execution wasn’t real!

Ishida’s sword continues to swing wildly, hacking down Monokuma three and four at a time. None moved to defend themselves or get out of the way. They all just sat there, waiting for Ishida to strike them down where they stood.

Ishida’s massacre seems to be neverending until one Monokuma makes him stop. This Monokuma was dressed in a white tanktop with blue shorts and red and white stockings. Its red hair was tied into two long pigtails.

Ishida grits his teeth a little and takes a step back. No...No...Not real...it wasn’t real! Sukai was dead! She was dead and that’s where she would stay! He raises his sword, ready to strike when another Monokuma drops down dressed in a purple suit with a rose on the breast of the shirt. A surgical mask covered its face.

Ishida takes a hesitant step back as more Monokuma drop down. One with a green shirt and baseball cap, another dressed as an eagle, one with puppets on its paws and one with a prison jumpsuit. Another wore a devil horn headband and held a shoebox. The next had its arm in a sling and the one after wore a hood covering its face.

Ishida takes a few more steps back and his sword falls from his hand. What was this..? Mockery?! Was this just some joke to that damned bear?! Wait...one was missi—!

Ishida’s entire body tenses up, face shocked. He slowly looks down to see his sword sticking out of his stomach. Blood dripped off the tip of it. His knees shake and he collapses to the ground with a heavy thud, blood pooling around him. A final Monokuma stood behind him, dressed in a pair of goggles and a toolbelt on. He also had a wide grin.

I felt sick after it ended. My head was spinning and my stomach cramped. My thoughts were fuzzy and unfocused. Why...Why did this have to happen..?

Monokuma said something, but I wasn’t focused. It was probably just mocking Ishida anyway. I noticed I had fallen to my hands and knees at some point. I think the others were worried about me, but all I could see was moving mouths. No noise got to my brain.

I get myself back to my feet and go to the elevator. The others follow along, still looking worried but saying nothing. We take the elevator back up in silence.

We all get it once it reaches the top floor and I begin making my way to my room. That’s when I finally heard someone speak.

“Ark, are you okay..?”

Was I...okay..? That question made me feel immeasurably amounts of rage. Like everything I had felt and experienced had come bubbling right up to the surface. I turn to face everyone. The group of five stood in front of me now, waiting for an answer.

“What kind of stupid question is that?!” I yell angrily, taking them all by surprise. “How can I be okay?! How could I ever be okay after what just happened?! I just watched a man die!”

“Ishida was the traitor! He betrayed us all!” Victor demands. “He murdered Satoshi!:

“So what?!” I snap. “Does that make this okay suddenly?! Is it just fine that he had to die?! Eleven people are fucking dead, Victor! We watched five of them die! Is that okay now?!”

“Ark, please, you need to calm down,” Sacri says.

“Don’t tell me what I have to do! I’m sick of you all telling me what I have to do! We haven’t even bothered trying to stop the bear because you all said we shouldn’t!”

“The bear would kill us!” Erika demands.

“How do you know?! We haven’t even tried! You’re all a bunch of fucking cowards!’

“Ark, that’s enough!” Benji says.

“I’m sick of this! I’m sick of you all just acting like this is normal and nothing is wrong! I’ve barely even seen you react to an execution unless it was someone you already cared about! People are dying and you’ll all just ignoring it!”

“Ark, please stop...” Jason says softly.

“And on top of that, you guys keep treating me weird! Sometimes you treat me like crap and won’t listen to a thing I say and other times I’m the fucking messia!”

Victor grabs me by the front of my shirt and lifts me off the ground.

“Alright, jackass, that's enough! You need to calm the fuck down right now!” he snaps at me.

I shove him away and he drops me. I land on my ass. “Screw you! I’m done sitting with my thumbs up my ass waiting for someone to come save us! No one is coming! I’m finding a way out dammit!”

“And how are you going to do that?” Sacri asks.

“I...I don’t know. But I’ll figure it out! With or without any of you!” I get up and storm off to my room, slamming he door shut behind me.

I lay in bed and close my eyes. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’d get us all out. Even if the others didn’t believe me. I’d do it. I knew I would.

I passed out, dreaming of the sky above my head and grass beneath my feet.

**Chapter 5: You’re Getting Warmer... - Completed!**

Ark, Benji, ~~Chrysta~~ , Jason, ~~Allison~~ , Erika, ~~Martha~~ , ~~Eddy~~ , ~~Satoshi~~ , ~~Ishida~~ , ~~Hiroshi~~ , ~~Methuselah~~ , ~~Yavin~~ , ~~Sukai~~ , ???, ~~Damond~~ , Victor


	39. Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, a Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All - Daily Life

**New Daily Life - Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, a Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All**

The morning announcement gets me up as it always does. We most likely had a couple hours of peace at best before Monokuma dropped another motive onto us. If I was going to find a way out, I’d have to do it now.

I get out of bed and quickly throw on some clothes. I head out of my room, determined to end this. The best place to look right now is the only place we haven’t seen yet. The new floor.

I head to the elevator, not interested in having any breakfast or seeing any of the others at the moment. I’d much rather work alone for the time being. Having them intrude could cause problems for me anyway.

I go get into the elevator and press the newly lit up button, taking it down to the newly accessible sixth floor. Whatever was down here would be of help to me. It had to be...

The door opens and I step out. The new floor had an unnerving, ominous feeling to it that made my skin crawl. I didn’t want to stay here. I’d look around and then leave. That was all I had to do.

I went to the right first. The first door I went took me into what looked like the office for a boss. The floor was made of a velvety carpet. On the other side of the room was a large desk that felt imposing and intimidating. It had a large chair behind it made for someone important to sit in. A large vase satin the desk, filled with beautiful flowers. There was a bookshelf on either side of the room filled with titleless books. Trying to open any of them proves fruitless, so I guess they were just decoration.

I decide to go through the desk drawers for anything that might be helpful. Sadly, all of the drawers are filled with basic office supplies or blank paper. Nothing around I could possibly care about.

Just like the last floor, only two rooms were provided to us. I guess Monokuma really was getting lazy. I try to open the door but...

“It’s locked?” I had to say it out loud to believe it. None of these doors had ever been locked before. We always got access to every room we were given. Why would this one be locked..?

I frown softly. There was something back there. Something important and secretive, enough so for Monokuma to lock it off to us all. I had to find out what’s as back there.

I head back into the elevator and take it to the top floor. I had an idea of how to get that door open. I just hope I had the time to do it.

I walk to the science lab, going past the cafeteria. I heard talking in there. It must be where the others were. I couldn’t tell them what I was doing. They’d try to stop me and I couldn’t let that happen.

I enter the science lab and go over to one of the cabinets, opening it up. And sure enough, it was right where it used to be. The fire extinguisher.

I pick it up, staring at it. It looked completely brand-new. Like it was never used to murder...

“...Sukai...” It has been so long since I had said her name. Or even thought about her. She was my friend and the first victim of this waking hell and I’ve been so preoccupied with everything that’s been going on I couldn’t be damned to even think about her.

I stand up. I needed to do something before I could get on with this plan. I head off, extinguisher in hand, back down to the bottom floor.

I enter the office again and go over to the flower pot. Setting the extinguisher down, I take the flowers out of the pot and walk off, taking the elevator back up to the top floor.

I step out and go to the game room. Nothing out of place here. Like nothing ever even happened. Was this his game? Remove the evidence and make us forget about the others? Bullshit.

I go over to the arcade machine and gently set down a flower for Sukai. I didn’t get to know her well, but I still considered the two of us friends. She had been respectful and straightforward. She didn’t take shit from anyone and had a blooming curiosity. I don’t care if she was human or not. She was Sukai Ikusamori and she was my friend.

I stare down at the flower. I gently place another down, this time for Chrysta. She had been mean and rude and narcissistic. Those attributes led her to murder. But despite that...I couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t her fault Monokuma drove her to madness. None of this was her fault and I wouldn’t hold that against her. She was more vulnerable than she wanted us to believe. I wish we could have gotten to know her better.

I left the area after that, silent and solemn. I make my way down to the next floor.

I head to the dance floor next. The music was loud and blaring as always. Not even a hint of a devastating explosion taking place was here.

I leave two more flowers on the floor. One was for Hiroshi. He was a jerk that saw me as less than him. But despite that, he bothered to spend time with me. He had someone here that cared deeply about him and an entire country waiting for him. He shouldn’t have died. It was supposed to be me. But the circumstances just piled up.

The other was for Eddy. I don’t want to think he was as bad a he presented himself. I think he only did it to protect himself from others. I could have been his friend if I had just spent more time with him. What he did was awful...but it was because of Monokuma. He was pushed into it on purpose by the bear.

I wipe my face a little and leave the area.

I went to the next floor down and enter the bakery. The warm, homey feeling continued to wash through the room as if no one ever died here. But surely it was a comforting place to hold their final breath.

This time, I left three flowers. Martha...she was kind and sweet. I wanted to help her break out of her shell and stop relying on her puppets. I wanted to be her friend and work alongside her in her puppetry. The two of us would have had so much fun. But she was tricked into helping with a murder, only to die in the end.

And then there was Yavin. Cool and calm as can be. He knew how to entertain a crowd and had one hell of a talent to go with it. He was a mysterious person but I enjoyed talking with him, even if he was making up stories about his past. But the deck had been stacked against him. If he had been able to escape, maybe we would have had one less person to mourn. But it just wasn’t able to happen.

The last flower was for Damond. I still don’t know if I totally understood him. But that cat, the one he called a demon, was everything to him. It was the most important thing he had and he just wanted to keep it safe. It was Monokuma that makes him paranoid and panic. It was Monokuma that drove him to murdering just to protect the thing he loved most. Wherever he was, I hope he knew Fluffy was in good hands. I’m sure it’d make him smile.

I left the area in silence, moving onto the elevator once more and going down. I entered the gymnasium next. Completely clean and ready for a game to go on that never will. The room where a person gave up looked absolutely normal.

I place down two flowers. Allison was such a kind, caring, loving person. She put her friends before herself and wanted to best for us. She was more concerned about all of us ahead of herself. And learning so much at once. So many awful, devastating things ended all of that and she just gave up. In her shoes...I don’t think I would have done anything different.

The second was Methuselah’s. Afraid to show his true self, there was a lot more to him than he originally let on. But I knew he was loyal to the people he cared about. He would have fought tooth and nail for us if he really had to, I was sure of it. He lost someone he cared about and I think that’s why he did what he did. And he still did it making sure things were swift and painless. I knew it was Monokuma that drove him to this step.

I head down to the next floor. I step into the pool. It was cool inside and peaceful. The water was still and would probably feel great to enter. No longer was it the boiling pool of death it got reduced to not too long ago.

I place the final two flowers. One for Satoshi, a true genius. Even if he rubbed it in everyone’s face, I knew deep down he cared about us. After all, he did his best to help us all in desperate times twice. No matter what he said and how he acted, he cared, even after being betrayed by someone close to him and losing someone he loved. He died trying to help us and that is a noble way to go, even if it was disgusting to think about.

And the final flower went to Ishida. He did his best to remain level headed, even when his emotions got the best of him. He betrayed us all, working for the bear throughout the game. All because Monokuma showed him something. Something so terrible and horrifying that he agreed to whatever terms the bear had. He was forced into it. So...I forgave him for everything he did.

I get back into the elevator, but didn’t do anything. I stared down at the floor, thinking of everyone. Everyone that died here. Everyone the suffered. Every moment of pain and anguish and despite up until their very final breath.

Tears trickled down my cheeks. I felt my breath quicken. And then heavy sobbing begins to rack my body, sending me to my knees on the floor of the elevator.

I just wanted to see them again. I wanted to see my friends. Everyone that I talked to and got to know and became close with that died here. I just wanted to see their faces again. Hear their voices. Make them smile. I just wanted my friends back...

It took me a minute to stop crying. I slowly stand up again, wiping my face off with my arm. I take a few deep breaths to regain my composure before taking the elevator back to the final floor.

I grabbed the extinguisher from the office where I left it and went over to the locked door. I’d get inside. I’d put an end to all of this.

“Ark Rogers!” Monokuma’s voice came ringing out of the video screens. “Ark Rogers, report to the cafeteria immediately! You’re late!”

He must be doing some kind of announcement. I ignore it and raise the extinguisher over my head.

“Ark! Get up here right now!”

If I left now, he might not kill me. If I stayed, I’d be breaking his rules and endangering my life.

“This is your last warning! Come here! NOW!”

I bring the extinguisher down with all my Might. The doorknob was as weak as it looked and popped off in one heavy swing. And the door opened after that.

I stare into the room. It was dark inside and I couldn’t see much. I drop the extinguisher and move to take a step inside.

“Hold it right there!”

I turn around as someone yells at me. It was Monokuma, and he looked pissed. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m getting the hell out of here,” I demand. “Whatever is behind this door has to have some kind of answer and I’m going in.”

“You can’t do that! It’s to early!” Monokuma snaps. “Get back to the cafeteria now or else!”

“Or else what?!” I snap. “You’ll kill me?! See if I care!” I turn and walks into the room.

He room was dark and dimly lit, but I could see better when I stepped inside. There wasn’t a whole lot going on here, the place looking like a storage room of some kind. A few metal shelves here or there with boxes and other belongings on them. I walk over to one in the back of the room.

The box was small and nothing special. I think it as a shoe box. I grab it and peek inside, revealing something shocking. It was our cellphones!

I take mine out of the bunch. Some envelopes were in here, too. Hey had names marked on them. One was for Sukai. Another just said ‘it’.

I turn on my cell phone. It flickered to life without a problem, but I had absolutely no signal in here. But there were some new messages on it...from my sister.

I quickly open my texts to read through them. The last conversation we had was there. We had been arguing over what to have for dinner. It had pissed me off st the time and the argument got heated. Now, I miss that feeling of normalcy. But there were a few new messages. They were all for he last date I could remember.

_Ark, is this a good idea?_

_I don’t know if you should have done this..._

_No, I should be trusting you. You always know what you’re doing. Good luck, bro! I know you’ll come out on top!_

I was already feeling the tears well up again. It had been so long since I last got to see anything from my sister. I don’t know what these texts meant, but at the moment, I didn’t care. I just missed her so much.

“You can’t be looking at that!” Monokuma screeches, now next to me. “That’s not for you!”

I glare at the bear and grab the box, putting my phone back inside. “I’m taking these upstairs to show everyone. Now.”

“No, you can’t do that! It’s confidential! Confidential!”

I try to walk past him, but Monokuma chomps down hard on my leg. His teeth sunk in and I began to bleed.

I scream loudly in pain, dropping the box and kicking my leg around. “Get off! Get off me!”

I try my best to kick Monokuma off or pull him away, but his jaw was locked on and not letting go. I hop around, screaming and yelling in pain. I didn’t notice he large open hatch in the floor until I jumped right into it by mistake.

I scream loudly as I fall. I hit the ground pretty soon with a thud. Monokuma shattered under my weight.

I groan weakly and slowly prop myself up on my arms. My leg hurt like hell, worse than the rest of me. Standing was painful and I was bleeding a lot, but as long as I leaned on the wall, I was fine.

I look around. I didn’t fall too far, thankfully. A laser in the wall lead back up to the entrance I fell through. A small doorway led into a main room. I could see in it.

The main room was awash in dim blue lights coming from the monitors covering one wall. There were many screens, all focused on one room of the building. There was also a computer nearby. It looked incredibly advanced. There were also two figures standing in the room.

Both people had looked at me as I stood there. Their body was tinted blue by the light of the screens, but I could see their faces clear as day. I was left in shock for a few seconds until I finally found my words.

“Hiroshi?! Methuselah?! You’re alive?!”


	40. Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, a Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All - Daily Life Investigation

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The two boys I had been sure were dead were alive and well, standing right in front of me.

“Where have you two been?! We all thought you were dead!”

The two of them look at each other and then back to me. They didn’t say anything.

There was something eerie about the way the two of them just stood there in silence, staring at me. But as I thought in the quiet, questions began to pop up. “...How are you two alive? We...We say you die.”

Hiroshi looks at Methuselah again. “Methuselah?” He points a finger at me. “Get him.”

He nods silently and begins to advance toward me. I take a step back.

“Methuselah? Methuselah, wait!” I take a few more steps back. I had a feeling if I let him grab me, I wouldn’t be making it out of this room again.

I turn around and quickly begin climbing back up the ladder. Methuselah was close behind me. My leg hurt and it was still bleeding, but I had to fight through it if I wanted to live to see the next few minutes.

My head pops out of the hole in the floor. Someone screamed from behind me. I wasn’t facing the door, so I had no idea who was there. “Someone help me!”

I felt a strong grip on my good ankle. I scream as I’m yanked down, my arm jerking up to try to grab onto thin air. But then a hand grabs onto mine. Then there was two. And then five.

I was lifted up and out of the hole by the others, all of them pulling on my arm with all their strength. I come out, shortly followed by Methuselah. He lets go of my ankle, Jason and Benji quick to pull my onto my feet and over to the group.

“Methuselah?! What the hell’s going on?” Victor demands. “I’m gonna—“

There’s the cock of a gun and Hiroshi steps out from behind Methuselah, holding a pistol. “You’ll what, Victor? Because if you try anything, we’ll be doing a special experiment about what happens when I fire a bullet through your skull!”

Victor backed down quickly, scowling angrily.

“How...How are you two alive..?” Sacri asks. “...are you both..?”

“The mastermind?” Hiroshi asks. “Yes, in fact, we are. If Ark had the nerve to follow the script and go to the cafeteria like he was supposed to, we could have done things the old fashioned way.” Hiroshi lets out a sigh. “But, I guess Ark isn’t one to follow the rules. Guess that’s what got him this far in the first place.”

“I...I don’t understand...” I murmur. “How can you two really be...I mean, we watched you both die!”

“You would have figured that out more if you had just played along,” Methuselah growls.

Hiroshi pats his back. “There, there. It’ll be alright. Sure, we can’t make our flashy entrance like we planned, but it’ll work out. Besides, this is different. Deviation from the norm is popular!”

Methuselah nods silently, but I could feel him glaring at me from under his hood.

“Well, since it can’t be helped, we’ll have to skip the theatrics and jump right into the Investigation period!” Hiroshi says excitedly. “You should know the drill. Looks around! Find clues! Discover the secrets of this place! Learn all the things we hid from you! And when the six of you are ready, meet us in the trial room. We’re be waiting!”

Hiroshi and Methuselah leave the room, the gun trained on all of us until they were both out of sight.

I couldn’t believe this. Methuselah and Hiroshi? Both of them? They’re responsible for all this? All of our pain and suffering and grief and sorrow...it was because of those two? Two people I considered friends? Two people I mourned for?

I felt sick. No, I was dizzy. The room was spinning around me. I look down at my leg. Adrenaline was leaving. Pain was returning. And I had lost a lot of blood. I collapse onto the floor and pass out entirely.

———————-

When I woke up, I was in the nurse’s office. I felt weak and woozy, but not in pain. I look at my leg. It was wrapped in bandaging and cleaned up. They must have me jacked on painkillers.

Jason was sitting at the side of my bed. He perks up seeing me awake and smiles wide. “Ark’s alive!”

I crack a tiny smile and chuckle dryly. “Yeah, Ark’s alive...where are the others?”

“Everyone’s investigating. I stayed here to make sure you’d be okay.”

“Thanks, Jason. I noticed your voice is getting better.”

Jason smiles and proudly and nods. “Mhmm! Oh, Victor said to give this to you.” Jason hands me a large chocolate chip cookie.

I take it from him and bite into it. It was warm and soft. It must have been fresh from the bakery. “Thanks, Jason. I’ll eat this while I investigate.”

Jason frowns softly. “Investigate..? But...the others aid you need to rest...”

“Jason, the last thing I need to be doing it laying down right now. I have to be helping and looking around.”

Jason still looked unsure. “If you really don’t want me moving around, you can always carry me.”

Jason looks at me. “Ah! You’re right!” He gets up from the chair he was sitting on and swiftly scoops me up in his arms bridal style. Not the most comfortable, but I wouldn’t have to move like this so that should keep the others happy enough.

“Take me back to that room. I want to look around.”

Jason nods and carries me back down to the newest floor to investigate.

The storage room still the way I left it. The box that has held all our phones was sitting on the shelf again. The others must have gone through it by now, judging by the letters being torn open and read.

“I already saw my phone,” Jason tells me. “It was...weird...”

I look at him then at the box. “You don’t mind if I go through them, right?”

“Go ahead.”

I take the box and begin to look through the other phones that I could. I also read over the letters. They were all similar to what I had gotten from my sister. Loved ones and family members saying some words of support to each of us about ‘big decisions’ and ‘something so life changing’. I still didn’t understand what it all meant.

I take my own phone back and sigh. Hiroshi told us the world had ended...everyone was dead...was my sister like that, too? Had she died out there? Would I never see her ag—

My phones beeps. It was the jingle for text messages. I quickly open it and look through the messages.

_Ark, I changed my mind. I don’t think you should be doing this._

_Ark, can you read these?_

_I miss you so much. Please...don’t die..._

The messages had been sent over the course of a week. I don’t know how long ago they were, but they couldn’t be that old. But I still don’t know what they meant...

I had Jason take me all over the room to try to get a stronger connection, but I couldn’t send any messages and I don’t think I was going to be getting ant back.

I put the phone back into my pocket and sigh deeply. “So much for that...”

I return to looking through the shelves. There was a thick looking booklet that I pick up. It seems like someone stapled a bunch of papers together. The title of the books said _The Second Tragedy_.

I frown a little and begin to flip through it. It went over what was, essentially, a second wave of despair and a second Tragedy. This Tragedy led to a world war and as a last resort volition, a nuclear holocaust was planned. Seventeen Hope’s Peak students were selected to last out the end of the world in a bunker made for them until it was safe enough to leave again. The end of the book showed the only image in the entire thing. It was of the two people responsible for the start of it all, referee to as the New SHSL Despair. It was an image of Methuselah and Hiroshi, side by side with sick grins on their faces.

I frown and shut the booklet, putting it back. That entire thing was weird but...I don’t know, something felt wrong about it.

“Jason, can you take me down to the monitor room in hat hatch I cake out of earlier?” I ask.

Jason looks at the hatch then backs to me. “Mhmm! Gotcha!”

I had to piggyback on Jason. I was beginning to think this idea of letting him carry me was more awkward than I originally anticipated. But I didn’t complain as he claimed the ladder down with me holding on.

Now that I could look around the room better, I had more of in understanding of what it was. The screens continue to show every room. I could zoom in and out and change the angle with a control panel sitting in front of them. I couldn’t see Hiroshi or Methuselah anywhere on the camera though.

Aside from that, there was a computer with a strange device on top of it.

“Victor says that was the thing keeping our phones from working,” Jason tells me, noticing where my gaze was.

I look at him then back to the scrambler. “But my phone got those text messages.”

“Apparently this place doesn’t have any service anyway. But Victor says there might be one at the top of the building, too.”

I nod a bit. “Right...can you set me down in the chair in front of the computer? I want to try to access it.”

Jason carefully sets me down. My leg still hurt a bit, but I think I was getting used to it.

I pull up to the computer and try to log into it. It seemed like it was already on, but I wasn’t able to do much with it besides looks at the one page that was pulled up.

It looked like some kind of broadcasting website. Whatever was being uploaded was live, but every time I tried to watch the video or leave the screen I’d just get an error message saying I didn’t have any authority.

“Whatever Hiroshi did to this thing, he made sure it was locked down tight...did he make this website?”

The only thing of interest still in the room we’re papers and notebooks hey all had scattered around. But all I really got out of was brainstorming plans made by the two of them for the killing games, such as motives and executions. Nothing particularly helpful.

Just before I was about to leave the room, a paper I knocked over caught my eye. I pick it up and read it.

It was a signed contract. Whatever he person was agreeing to had been blotted out with what I hoped to be red paint. However, there was a signature on the bottom of it.

It...was Sukai’s name written there. I start going through the papers on the table, but I was only able to find a few more contracts. “Ishida...Satoshi...Damond...Martha...” All signed on a sheet of paper, the contents blotted out. Why were these here..?

I had Jason take me back up the ladder, but by that point, I was done being carried around.

“But...doesn’t your leg still hurt?” He asks after setting me down.

“I’ll be fine. If I need you, I’ll scream.”

“Mm...okay,” Jason says, still looking hesitant. But he left me on my own, walking out of the room.

I make my way back to the office from before to look around in there. I didn’t really see much. In fact, something was missing. One of the drawers of papers was now emptied out. Where could they have gone?

Using the elevator was as easy as I had hoped. I get off st the top floor, deciding I wanted to work my way downward.

When I got off, I saw everyone was in the hall, standing in front of...a window?! It seemed like a part of the wall had been removed to reveal it. I hobble over to them all as fast as I could.

“Where did this come from?! Guys, did you try to break out yet? Maybe we can all—“

I still as I pushed my way past her all to look outside...but there wasn’t much to look at.

The place looked like a desolate wasteland. The harem remains of a couple trees stood. The grass was dead if not completely missing to reveal the cracked and dried earth under it. The sky was red and clouds covered everything. It didn’t look like a single thing lived out there.

“What...What is this..?” I asks soflty.

“...armageddon,” Benji says.

“Hell,” Erika corrects.

This couldn’t be right. I couldn’t really be seeing what little remained of the world outside. But...how could I deny what I was looking at..?

I hesitantly place my hand on the glass. It was cold and thick. I couldn’t see my reflection in it. “It can’t be...”

“Let’s...keep looking around...” Sacri finally says. They walk away from the window without much more of a word. The others follow after. I stayed behind to simply...stare. But eventually I couldn’t take much more of the sight. I walked away as well.

I scoured the entire building but...there really wasn’t much else to see. Not that I cared. I had seen all I wanted to. I waited in the elevator until the other five joined up with me.

Once all six of us were inside, the elevator moved downward on its own. We all knew where we were going. But unlike all he other times, the descent downward was a normal pace. It made the entire thing unbearable slow.

We didn’t share a word with each other. We simply stood at our spots and waited. It wouldn’t be long before we were sent into the trial room. That would be the place where He truth would come out. Everything we wanted to find, whether we truly want to find it or not, will be revealed.

I was ready to end this.

The elevator stops and the doors open. He six of us walk out together for the final time. And now...the final trial can begin...


	41. Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, a Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All - Final Trial Part I

The trial room was no different than usual, but a heavy feeling seemed to fill the air anyway. We all make our way to our stands. Ishida’s portrait stood in his stand now, his face crossed out. At the front of the room where Monokuma would normally sit was Hiroshi and Methuselah in two thrones.

Hiroshi was wearing a large purple cape that draped down to the floor. A golden crown with gorgeous jewels rested on his head. He sat on the throne, propping up his head with a hand. He had a lazy grin spread across his face like usual.

Methuselah sat to his left. His hood looked a bit more tattered than before. A spiked collar was around his neck with a couple chainlinks hanging off of it. He had a snarl plastered on his face.

“So...what’s the point of this?” I ask. “No one’s dead. Why are we having a trial?”

“To find out all the secrets of the killing game, fools!” Hiroshi proclaims. “The two of us will be here to confirm all your answers. But treat this like any other trial! We’ll even help out with a question! Why are you all here?”

“Well...we’re here because the world ended,” Benji says.

“Nuclear warfare...” Jason mutters softly.

“But why us specifically?” Sacri asks. “Is it our status as Hope’s Peak students?”

“That has to be it!” Erika say. “We’re here because we’re Hope’s Peak students!”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” I say.

Erika blinks. “...I am?”

I nod. “Yeah. While I was looking around, I found a few contracts down in the surveillance room. I couldn’t read the contents, but some of the others had signed them. Given the context, I think they were to agree to staying here for however long things last outside.”

“I don’t remember signing any contracts...” Jason murmurs.

“Yeah, and we also don’t remember nuclear holocaust. But here we fucking are!” Victor snaps.

“So is that your final answer?” Hiroshi interrupts. “You’re all here to survive the end of the world due to your status as Hope’s Peak students?”

“Well...not Ark,” Sacri says. “According to what you said a while ago, he is here in place of his sister.”

I look down at the mention of her. Those texts...was she telling me she changed her mind about giving me the spot? Did she become scared of dying at the last minute? But...then what did she mean by coming out on top? The thought of her frantically texting me, knowing it would be her last chance of survival...it sent a cold shiver down my spine.

“That would be correct!” Hiroshi says. “The sixteen of us were picked out to survive the end of it all! Most other students had already fled in an effort to see their families again or survive or what have you. But Ark, well, nothing special about him. Not even in the Reserve Course like his sister! But that’s how she won the lottery for a seventeenth survivor, using what was left of those classes.”

“But...why was Sukai allowed to survive?” Victor asks.

Hiroshi blinks and looks at him. “What was that?”

“I said why did Sukai get to live? She was an android, right? Shouldn’t a human have taken her place?”

“Ah!" Hiroshi sits up now, eyes focused on Victor. “That would be...because...”

“You’d need someone to test the radiation outside,” Methuselah says after Hiroshi was silent for a moment. “That’s why they had the lottery for an extra student.”

“But she wasn’t just some device to use like that!” I demand. “She was one of our friends!”

“Oh, Ark.” Hiroshi laughs softly before gripping the arms of his throne tightly and leaning forward. “This is the end of the world, Ark. There are no friends. No allies. No anything. Just you and yourself and sixteen other people desperate not to die. You of all people should see by now that no relationship can save a desperate person.”

“You want to talk about desperate..?” I ask softly. “Desperate...is watching your friends die one by one. Desperate is wondering what you could of done, how you could have stopped it, why it had to happen. Desperate is crying yourself to sleep because you had to send someone to their own death. Desperate is wishing you could have done anything different to save the people you care about! You don’t know the first damn thing about desperate, you bastard!”

Hiroshi started at me quietly before sitting back in his throne and smiling lazily. “I think it’s time for the next question. What exactly happened to the outside world?”

“That is pretty obvious,” Victor says. “Nuclear holocaust! The end of the world! Extinction of life as we know it!

“I...I think he means the specific event...” Benji says softly.

"It was a world war or something...” Jason murmurs.

“That’s close,” Sacri says. “But I think it was something else...”

“The second Tragedy, right?” I ask. “A new uprising of despair. It led to the end of the world...”

“There we go!” Hiroshi says. “Now, normally this would be the part where you all try to figure out who the mastermind is. But...we can’t exactly do that, now can we?”

I could feel him glaring at me as he said that.

“I want to hear them say it,” Methuselah says.

Hiroshi looks at him. “Hm? What was that?”

“I want to hear them say it,” he repeats. “I want them to say who did it.”

Hiroshi looks back at everyone and grins lazily...no, crazily. It was a crazed grin spread across his face this time. “Well, you heard the man. Say it. All of you. We want to hear it from your own lips.”

“You’re the ones who did it,” Victor says.

“The two of you pulled it all off....” Erika murmurs.

“You ended the world,” Sacri says.

“As the SHSL Despair...” Jason mutters.

“And the one who snuck into the only safe haven left,” Benji adds.

“Hiroshi and Methuselah...the two of us single handedly ended the world,” I say.

They both grinned toothily. They liked it. They were enjoying every second of this.

“Right again!” Hiroshi declares. “So, I guess now we should—“

“Why did you do it?” I ask.

Both seemed taken back by my question. “Hm..? What do you mean?” Hiroshi asks.

“Why do this? Why do any of this?! You’ve basically wiped out the last of humanity! What was the point of any of this?! What’s your goal here?!”

Hiroshi grins wide. “I thought you were paying attention. The goal is Despair, Ark! Pure and simple!”

“That can’t be it.” I say. “That’s...That’s so stupid and pointless! What kind of despair are you getting four of any of this?! The world is over! It’s all gone! What kind of results do you get out of six people?!”

“We’re the ones meant to be asking the questions,” Methuselah says, stepping in. “Learn your place.”

“Go to hell! I want some answers! You owe us all answers!”

“H-He’s right!” Benji demands. “Answer the question! N-Now!”

“You’ve put us through hell and back! Tell us what we want to know!” Erika yells.

“A despair strong enough to end the world and life as we know it...that’s the kind of despair I want to be,” Hiroshi says. “None of you understand what I’ve done to gain power like this! None of you know what lengths I’ve gone through to get to where I am today! I killed my entire family bloodline just to gain the power I wanted! So why don’t you just shut the fuck up and play along already?! I’m the one with all the power! I’m the one in charge here! So shut up and do what you’re told!”

Methuselah was totally silent right now. He looked...uncomfortable.

“You...You killed your whole family..?” Jason asks softly.

“You’re completely deranged...” Sacri mutters.

I frown softly. Play along. He’s mentioned that before. In fact, he’s said a lot of weird things. And there were still some things we haven’t figured out yet. I was done playing along. I wanted answers and I was going to get them.

“Who are you showing this to?” I ask.

Hiroshi frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“That computer in your surveillance room was sending this footage out to somewhere. Where’s it going?”

“He’s right,” Victor says. “That thing was sending the feed of this place out. Who’s seeing all this?”

“Are there survivors?!” Erika demands. “Are people still out there?!”

“It’s in case anyone still is,” Methuselah says. “You never know. Some people are like cockroaches. Just can’t kill them...” He was glaring at me again.

“Then...what about these?” I pull out my cellphone and hold it up. “I have strange messages from my sister.”

“I got those from my friend...” Jason murmurs.

“My parents sent me text messages, too!” Benji says.

“I had a letter from my brethren,” Sacri adds.

“Did everyone get weird stuff from that box?” Erika asks.

“I know I did,” Victor grumbles.

“Easy,” Hiroshi says. “Motives! We had been planning making one so you’d want to see your families again but ended up scraping it after the fourth motive.”

“But I got new messages ever since Victor turned off that phone scrambler,” I retort.

Hiroshi frowns softly. “He did what?”

“Yeah, and it was easy, too!” Victor says.

“If he got new messages, then maybe his sister is alive!” Jason says.

“But wouldn’t a nuclear war destroy cell towers..?” Benji asks. “I mean...I don’t know a lot about this stuff or anything, but I feel like you couldn’t use a phone after something like that.”

“He’s got a point,” Sacri says. “And you wouldn’t put up phone scramblers if the phone towers were knocked down anyway.”

“Then...What does all of this mean..?” Erika asks.

What did all this mean? I needed to think about this.

_Why did I get those messages?_

Because the phone scrambler was turned off.

_Why was there a phone scrambler?_

There’s a phone signal around here.

_How is there a signal?_

There would have to be cell towers and people running them.

_What can that mean about the outside world?_

That...things were fine.

My eyes light up. “I have the answer!” I shout out.

The others look at me. Hiroshi scowls softly. “What did you figure out?” Jason asks.

“The only possible way I could have gotten those messages...the only reason Hiroshi would want to block out phone signals...is because the outside world still exists!” I demand.

“It...It does?!” Benji says in shock.

“But they told us it was gone...everything we saw...” Jason murmurs.

“It has to be a lie,” I say.

“You’re really that delusional, huh?” Hiroshi asks us. “Willing to believe anything telling you that everything will be okay. This is the true futility of hope. Truly disgusting.”

“This isn’t about hope!” I demand. “This is about you being a liar! That’s what you’ve been feeding us ever since the fourth motive! Everything you’d been trying to tell us if a total lie, isn’t it?!”

“You’re daring to doubt us after all we’ve shown you?” Methuselah asks. “You should be grateful to even survive. Not all of you were strong enough. Allison even gave up.” A sneering grin crosses his face. I could see Jason tending up in anger.

“I doubt it alright. None of us want to buy into your bullshit anymore! So why don’t you tell us the truth?!”

“This is the truth...” Methuselah says. “So I think it’s time you accepted your place.”

I could see Methuselah wasn’t going to let this up without a fight. Fine! If it meant getting us out sooner, I’d push through anything they had coming our way!

”You don’t understand a single thing you’re talking about.”

”Everything we’ve told you is the complete truth.”

”The events of everything were even laid out for you to find!”

“But there’s something wrong with that outline you left us. It doesn’t sit well with me...”

”There’s nothing wrong with it.”

”You just choose to doubt it.”

”It has all the proof you need!”

Ah! That’s it! That’s the problem with it all! “I’ll cut your words down!” I scream.

Methuselah seems taken back by me. “But...it is! What I said was true!”

“What you showed us isn’t proof. There wasn’t a single picture in there except for the one at the end showing the two of you. That’s not proof of anything!”

“Are you forgetting something?” Hiroshi asks me. “We showed you the outside world! We showed you what had become of it!”

He was right. No matter how much I fought and argued, we saw what had happened out there. How could I possibly deny that?

“...Ishida told us all something before he died,” Sacri says after a moment. “He said...that we can’t trust anything Monokuma tells us. Everything he says is a lie. And I choose to believe my friends over the ones who put us here!”

He was right. Those had been Ishida’s final words to us. There was something here to prove it wasn’t real. And I’d figure it out!

“Trusting the words of the traitor?” Hiroshi asks us. “Absolutely pathetic...but fine. I’ll play your little game! Come at me, then! I’ll destroy your hope beneath my feet like the annoying bug it is!”

It seems Hiroshi wasn’t going to let us ruin his plans without a fight. But that was fine. Something was wrong with that window and I knew exactly what it was!

“There was a problem—“

“ _Your hope is worthless!_ ”

“—with your window because—“

“ _Give into despair!_ ”

“—I couldn’t see—“

“ _Pathetic bug!_ ”

“—my reflection in it!”

“Is that the best you’ve got?! So you couldn’t see your reflection! Big fucking deal! There’s no way to fake what you saw, so give up already!” Hiroshi screams.

This was it. The moment of truth! It was time to end this! “That’s where you’re wrong!” I yell out.

Hiroshi flatters. “Wh...What..?”

“Methuselah proves that wrong,” I say. “He had an execution. We watched him die. But...if you had created the video on, say, a computer, then he wouldn’t have to. That’s what I think was shown to us! A computer image on a screen! That’s why I couldn’t see my reflection! It wasn’t a window, it was a screen showing an image!”

“Is that true?” Erika asks. “Was it just a screen?”

Hiroshi didn’t answer. His head was hung low.

“Then...Then that means that the world is okay!” Jason says excitedly.

“...oh...does it..?” Hiroshi asks softly. He looks up at all of us, grinning wide. “Maybe you should ask that to our lovely audience!”

“Lovely...audience..?” Benji asks softly. “Wait...who’s watching this?!”

“Billions of people world wide!” Hiroshi says excitedly. “They’ve been watching your every move since the very start!”


	42. Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, a Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All - Final Trial Part II

“Billions...of people..?” Jason asks softly.

“That...That can’t be right!” Erika demands. “You’re lying! You’re lying again!”

“Quit with the shit and just give us real answers!” Victor demands.

“You don’t believe me? Hiroshi asks. He hasn’t stopped grinning. “You all must have forgotten what things are like right now. Economic depressions, a halt in creativity and new inventions, hospitals and schools and business shutting down. This issue a world wide crisis. People are slipping into desperation and depression.”

“There’s no way that’s our fault!” I demand.

“It’s not,” he agrees. “But after learning about the killing games and doing a lot of my own independent research, I had an epiphany! These games were found to produce powerful hope in those that survive! A hope that can spread through the world by its mere existence! I decided what better way to try to help the world than give them the hope they so desire?”

“He told me his plan,” Methuselah says. “And I agreed to help. It was a good idea, and it seems to be working. We’ve been getting a lot of positive responses.”

“But...But this is crazy!” Benji demands. “How would you even m-make a worldwide broadcast work?!”

“I’ll admit, it wasn’t easy,” Hiroshi says. “But I implemented some translation tech to create subtitles. And the Internet is great for quickly circulating information. So if someone slept through a murder important event, they’d just have to check the official website and see several thousand comments all about it! People really enjoy this stuff!”

“This is sickening...” Sacri murmurs. “People wouldn’t watch something like this. Watching innocent teenagers slaughter one another...I have more faith in humanity than to just watch this happen!”

“That faith is rather misplaced then,” Methuselah says. “Do you want to see the website? I’m sure it’s flooding with comments right now.”

“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea!” Hiroshi says. “Let’s give them all the proof they could want!” He fishes a remote out of his pocket and presses a couple buttons. Screens pop out of the walls, much like the one we had seen upstairs showing us the fake world. On the screens were the Japanese message board for the website I had seen on the computer but couldn’t access.

_Wow, I can't believe it’s already the final trial!/Our messeges are on the screen!/mayb erika will be hope/this has been so cool!/I thought for sure he mastermind would be Chrysta!/nothing more exciting than a trial!/Let’s just get to the execution! IT’S PUNISHMENT TIIIIIIME!_

We all stared in disbelief as comments continued to pour in. People...were actually watching this. People that could have come in and helped us. Stopped it all and saved us. Make it stop before it ever started.

“It...It can’t be real...” Jason says weakly.

“I-I d-d-don’t want t-to believe it...” Benji stammers, holding his arm tightly.

Was this real? Was this the truth we were finally being presented with? The world and everyone in it was just sitting back and watch this like a...like...

“...like a TV show...” I murmur. “That’s why you made that fake plot...that’s why you’ve been trying to make things as new and exciting as possible...this is all just a TV show you’ve been broadcasting for the world to see!”

Hiroshi shrugs lazily. “Guilty as charged. This entire thing was just a TV show I’ve made for all to see. Guess that makes me the producer, eh?”

“Co-producer,” Methuselah corrects.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Hiroshi says.

“So...So who was that person you had Eddy kill?” Sacri asks. “If that wasn’t you and...everyone the world is still here, then...”

“Hm? Oh, some rando,” Hiroshi says casually. “I needed a body to fake my own death. So I got some kid in here and told him to go through that door. Worked like a charm~”

“How can you talk like that?!” I demand. “You’re talking about murder! You killed someone!”

“In case you weren’t listening, I’m already quite comfortable with murder. An entire family doesn’t just drop dead on their own!”

“You were telling the truth about that?” Victor asks. “You’re more fucked up than I am!”

“I’ll do anything for power,” Hiroshi says. “Even if it means wiping out my entire bloodline! But that’s what made me so perfect for running this game. Someone so craving of power and control wouldn’t so easily lose to a bunch of future dead bodies. And it helps cement my role of despair. Much like Methuselah and his blind loyalty to me and my cause...”

The two of them were absolutely deranged. There was no denying that. They’ve gone utterly insane.

“Why did we have to do this?!” Erika demands. “What did we do to deserve this?!”

“I’m sure you can figure out why you’re all here,” Hiroshi says. “The answer is out there. Not everything I showed you was a lie, you just drew different conclusions. And the audience will never forgive me if I just explain it all to you!”

What? So not everything he showed us was a lie...but...then what exactly was it we were meant to pay attention to?

“We were told we came here because the world ended but clearly that’s not the answer,” Sacri says.

“Maybe some of that fake plot isn’t fake...” Jason murmurs.

“That still doesn’t explain how we ended up here,” Victor explains.

“What about those contracts? Are those real?” Benji asks.

“That has to be it!” I declare.

Benji shrieks. “Wh-What?! Did I say it wrong?!”

“Er...no. But I think what you said was right. This contracts is why we’re here...or at least you guys.”

“But...that doesn’t make sense,” Sacri says. “That would mean we signed up to participate in all of this.”

“And you did,” Hiroshi responds.

“What?! That’s crazy!” Victor demands. “I don’t have that much of a death wish!”

“I would understand why I would give up my life at a stage where I was waiting to die for Him,” Sacri adds.

“Death’s scary...” Jason murmurs.

“Well it’s true! Those signatures were all yours. I can fish them out for you again if you really doubt it. And while I might be a genius of a man, forgery isn’t exactly my forte. They’re completely legitimate, written by your own hands!”

“But...I don’t remember writing anything!” Erika declares.

“Memory erasure is such a simple feat nowadays, I’m not surprised,” Sacri says.

“How do we know he didn’t forge anything?! It’s simple!” Victor demands.

“So you don’t believe us again?” Methuselah asks. “That’s fine. Neither did Ishida...”

“...what did you say?” I ask.

“Oh, just that we told Ishida about all of this.” Hiroshi gestured vaguely in the air. “He didn’t believe it either. Not until we showed him the video. After that, he was willing to do anything we wanted.”

“What video..?”

“Oh, it would be so boring to have to sit through his again. I’ll show you someone else’s!” He presses another button on the remote. The screens change. The message board disappears and on the screen now was...Erika.

Erika sat on a chair in what looked like an office. She looked...solemn. Nothing like her usual self. Whatever it was, this was serious.

“You understand the circumstances, right?” Says Hiroshi’s voice, off screen on the video.

Erika on the video nods. “I understand. But...it’s fine. I don’t think I even care if I die.”

Erika was silent for a moment as she watched the video of herself. “What...What is this..? I’d never say something like that!”

The video continues on. “The Killing game will instill hope in the world again. Everyone will be watching and you won’t be leaving until it ends, assuming you survive. Is that okay?”

Erika nods a second time. “Yeah...I don’t have much going on out here. Maybe this will be fun. If I die, it could at least be cool, right? And it’d help everyone out. I’m absolutely ready for this.”

“You could be murdered or executed. It wouldn’t be a good experience. Do you agree to these conditions?”

And Erika nods a third time. “Maybe an execution for the SHSL Occultist could be cool. And maybe I’d have an interesting murder. People would be into that, I think.”

“Stop it! Make it stop!” The current Erika scareams. She was holding onto her head, gripping her hair tightly. “I don’t want to listen to this! It’s wrong! It’s a lie! I wouldn’t say that! I’d never want to say that ever!”

The screen flickers through static for a moment. Then, Jason was sitting in the seat Erika had been. He wasn’t wearing his mask. His eye flickers nervously from the camera to whoever he was taking to, most likely Hiroshi. The first question Erika had been asked was repeated to Jason.

Jason nods quickly. “Yeah! Yeah, I do...”

Hiroshi repeated the second question. Jason nods again. “I...I don’t care if I never leave again. I just want to help everyone...”

Hiroshi repeats the third question and again, Jason nodded. “If I die...I just hope it’s fast. It’d be better than...any of this, really...”

Our Jason had his head lowered as he listened to his own voice say that all. His shoulders shook.

The video changes. Now it was Victor on the screen. The questions are repeated. The answers are different, yet the same. And then it happens with Benji. And then Sacri. And then Sukai. And Allison. And Eddy. And Satoshi. And everyone else. Everyone that was here had a video, confirming their stance on all of this. On their acceptance of death. Everyone but me.

“Why...would we agree to this..?” Benji asks softly. “What would make us want to do this..?”

“I told you the condition of the world,” Hiroshi says. “It’s nothing like the Tragedy that happened or the one I made up. Those are big and exciting! But what’s happening now...it’s slow. And quiet. And empty. Like being left in a room on your own with a stab wound in your gut to die a painful death. That’s what it’s like out there. And that’s why I started the killing game.”

“...why don’t I have one of those videos?” I ask finally. “Everyone else did. Where’s mine?”

“Your case was...differently,” Hiroshi admits. “It was supposed to be your sister, a reserve course student. By the two of you switched places. We decided to run with it. She was picked via lottery, but chickened out last minute. So now you’re here. But this is fine, too. Certainly more interesting!”

“But you tired to kill me!” I demand. “What the hell was that all about?!”

“Well, there were...complications. And we didn’t want you to be in the way.”

“What complications? This is your big final trial, right?! Give me answers! Tell me the truth!”

“Suffice it to say, we didn’t want you to be hope initially,” Methuselah says. “We agreed a normal high schooler like you was not the one we wanted. Despite this, you managed to live longer than we expected and grabbed the audience’s heart.”

“We should have known beforehand the audience wanted someone like them in the position of hope. After all, it’s easier to relate to them,” Hiroshi agreed.

“I’m...hope?” I ask. “But how would you—“

“It’s the way you fought during all the trials,” Erika says.

“And the determination to get out,” Sacri adds

“But to make sure all your friends got out, too,” Victor finishes.

“And...And you’re ability to make us all feel better just by being around,” Benji says.

“And your refusal to give into the bear,” Jason says.

All five of them were smiling. I didn’t like it.

“You’re hope!” Hiroshi says. “You’re the hope we’ve all been waiting for! The hope this killing game exists for!”


	43. Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, a Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All - Final Trial Part III

“I...I don’t understand why it’s me,” I say. “I’m not anything special. I’m not even a SHSL!”

“The presence of hope isn’t reliant on things like that,” Hiroshi says. “It’s a part of you, Ark, and always has been. Despair as powerful as this needs a hope to counter it. This killing game, and the deaths of everyone here, was the sort of pressure you needed to have your true purpose revealed!”

I don’t think I understood entirely. But...I didn’t care. This wasn’t right. None of this was!

“That’s...That’s not an excuse! None of that excuses everything you’ve put us through and the people you killed!”

“We’ll get our revenge,” Sacri says. “And you’ll be at the helm.”

“I don’t want to hear it from you!” I snap. “The five of you aren’t being helpful at all!”

“Huh? What did we do?!” Victor demands.

“You think all this hope crap is a good thing?! It’s literally what Hiroshi and Methuselah want! It’s just giving them everything they wanted!”

“There’s no need to talk like that,” Hiroshi assures calmly. “Hope should be something to welcome! It’s a force that can change the world for good! You’ll crush despair with it and inspire everyone watching!”

“Stop talking like that!” I demand angrily.

“Like what?” Methuselah asks me.

“Like hope and despair are all that matter! There’s more to people than that! There’s anger and stress and joy and jealousy and so much else! You can’t just boil it down to two things and act like that’s it!”

“Just because you don’t understand it’s importance doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” Hiroshi assures. “Ark, you should seriously think about this. Would the entire world clamor for something if it would be so meaningless?”

I frown softly. Would they? This killing game wasn’t something just done by Hiroshi and Methuselah. The entire world was behind its very creation. Even the people here, trapped in this place and forced through the game, had wanted to be a part of it from the get go. Hope means something to a lot of people of they’re willing to fight so hard for it.

“...maybe it’s not meaningless...” I say. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe...the world does need hope. But...”

“...but?” Methuselah asks.

“...if this is hope...if this is what hope is meant to be...then I don’t want it! I don’t want any part of it! I don’t want a hope used to kill so many innocent people!”

“That’s not what hope is!” Erika demands.

“Hope is a power to push through to the very end. To fight back against all odds and come out with a smile on your face,” Victor explains.

“But that doesn’t have to be hope!” I demand. “That can be determination or confidence or will! Anyone can have that if they try, but we don’t need to be doing something like this to people to make it happen!”

“Hiroshi’s saying a lot of completely insane stuff,” Benji assures. “We...We shouldn’t listen to him. He has to be wrong. H-He’s just trying to make you side with despair!”

I can see my friends wouldn’t be any help to me. They were just as blinded by all this nonsense as everyone else is. Making excuses and explaining things away. I couldn’t rely on them in this. I was on my own.

“Ark, you need to think about the greater good!” Hiroshi declares. “This is for the world! Sometimes a few people need to be sacrificed for such a thing.”

“No, they don’t!” I demand. “Especially not for something like this! If your idea of hope is death and pain then...then it’s wrong! If that’s what your hope is, then it’s not anything I want a part of!”

“Ark, you can’t let him get to you!” Erika demands. “C’mon, you got this! Fight back! Be our hope, Ark! You can do it!”

“Shut up! All of you shut up already! I said I don’t want to be a part of this! I want nothing to do with hope or despair! You’re all talking like crazy people!”

“Your friends hold hope in you,” Methuselah says. “Even without a SHSL talent, they look up to you.”

“What difference does some stupid talent make?!” I snap. “Look at the kind of people that school attracts! You two psychopaths are from that school, dammit! I don’t want anything to do with it either! I’m glad I’m not from a place like that! Your talents don’t make you better than me!”

“Please think rationally!” Sacri says. “He’s just trying to get to you!”

“I am thinking rationally! It’s the rest of you that’s being blinded by this bullshit! You’re all just making excuses for this crap!”

“Hey, that’s not true! You need to calm down right now!” Victor demands.

“What do you think is going to happen if we just give everyone what they want? What’ll happen when the world gets the hope they want?”

“Uh...everything will be okay?” Jason asks.

“No. They’ll give up again. And they'll demand another killing game so they can have a new hope. And if someone gives it to them, it’ll just happen again. And again. And again! And it’ll just keep happening to a point where they can just stop trying entirely and just expect more people to slaughter each other so people can get some sick satisfaction from watching the traumatized few left over drag themselves out on their own! Is that what you guys want? Is it?!”

“It won’t have to!” Sacri declares. “The six of us will do everything we can to stop this from happening again!”

“And how many people have said that before you?!” I snap angrily. “Because this is killing game number 8 and I sure as hell don’t see anything stopping yet!”

“This is...This is what Hiroshi wants...” Benji murmurs. “He wants us to turn on each other and uh...and give up...”

They just wouldn’t listen. I could yell and explain all I want, but not a single one of her would listen to a word I had to say. Convincing them was a waste of time. Explaining myself is pointless. God, I felt so...so trapped...

“Wow, you guys really will just justify anything,” Hiroshi says boredly. “All in the name of hope. How pathetic.”

“Shut your trap,” I snarl. “This is exactly what you want! You want this hope to succeed!”

Hiroshi smiles lazily and shrugs. “Guess I do. But I have a part to play, just like the rest of you. Despair isn’t supposed to want hope to win. Even if I really do!”

“This is wrong...” I say. “I promised myself that I would stop you and get my friends out of here safely. And if this idea of hope...of this is what you really want...then I’ll crush it! I’ll crush your hope until it’s dust! I’ll crush it until nothing remains!”

Hiroshi’s grin widens slowly. “And how will you crush that hope when it’s you? Hm?”

I...I didn’t know...but I might have an idea...

“This battle is getting so boring,” Methuselah laminates.

“I agree!” Hiroshi says. “Truly, we’ve reached ourselves an impasse. I think the best thing to do is reach a conclusion then. Wrap it all up with a nice little bow!”

“What are you getting at..?” Victor asks.

“Isn’t it obvious? The most exciting part of any final trial! The final decision! The six of you will be voting to decide the fates of all of us and the world behind those walls!”

“What’s the decision?” Jason asks hesitantly.

“We’ll be going back to the basics, of course,” Hiroshi says. “You’ll all vote between hope and despair! One vote for despair is all it takes for you to lose! Vote hope, represented by Ark, and me and Methuselah will be executed while the six of you are released. Vote despair, represented by me, and Ark will be the one facing execution and I’m not letting the rest of you off so easily! And the two of us will obviously abstain from the vote.”

I knew he was full of shit. There’s no way he’d kill me that easily. But even so...I had to try something.

“If you think we’ll be giving you a win here, you’re as dumb as you look!” Victor declares. “We’ve been through way too much for us all to just give up now! And I sure as hell will enjoy watching the two of you squirm!” He puts in his vote.

“I know this is the choice Damond would make. I know this is the right choice!” Erika declares. “I’ll make sure to get out of here for him, and everyone else, too! That’s a promise!” She puts in her vote.

“I...I need to be strong and make my own choices...” Benji murmurs. “I can’t keep letting my fears and worries drag me down. So I’ll do it! I’ll vote for what I believe in! I’ll make this choice myself without any doubt!” He puts in his vote.

“I can do this on my own. I don’t need someone to hold my hand the entire way,” Jason says, his voice sounding much strong than when he first started talking. “I’m big and strong and I can do whatever I want to! And I want this to end!” He votes.

“I’m human. I’m an independent person that can make their own choices and decisions in life. No matter how much I struggle, I know I can make my way through with friends by my side,” Sacri says. “And I’m starting that here.” They vote.

Hiroshi grins widely. “Well, I just can’t wait another second! Let’s see the results!”

The screens shift once more to show the votes. Five marks were next to Hiroshi’s face.

Hiroshi and Methusah didn’t look the least bit upset over losing. Hiroshi shrugs lazily. “What can you do? No way to beat hope. Oh well! I guess that means it’s PUNISHME—“

A loud ping rings out and everyone looks at the screen. There was another vote. This one was next to my face. A vote...for despair.

Hiroshi seemed angry. All eyes were on the one who made that vote. “You!” Hiroshi screams. “What did you do?!”

I kept my eyes down on the screen. My hand still rested on the choice I had made. “...I voted to end your hope.”


	44. Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, a Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All - Final Trial Part IV

“Ark, you...you voted for despair..?” Erika asks softly.

“I'm voting against all of it! Hope and despair! I’m not letting Hiroshi win,” I say. “I’m not letting this happen ever again! I’m actually going to do something for once! I’ll end killing games once and for all!”

“You’re a fool!” Hiroshi yells. “Look at what you’ve done! You’ve ruined everything! Think about the world! Think about everyone that needs you!”

“Fuck the world!” I yell back. “I don’t give a shit! I’m doing this because this is what they need! They can’t rely on the pain and trauma of others to feel better about themselves!”

“You don’t understand anything! It can’t end like this! We’ve done too much for it to end like this!”

He wasn’t going to press that button. He wasn’t going to send me to my...my execution. God, thinking about that left a pit in my stomach. It was the realization of what I’ve done. I’ve sentenced myself to death. But...But his is what has to happen. I had to end their hope so another killing game wouldn’t start. This is the only choice I had. And I had to pull through with it.

I hope off my podium and make a rush for the button. My friends were left in shock and confusion and didn’t move. Hiroshi stood up from his throne, looking angry.

I get to the button. Hiroshi was closer and was in between me and it. “Methuselah!” Hiroshi snaps. “Get off your ass and—“

I sock Hiroshi in the chin. He makes an ugly grunt and drops to the ground. And I slam my fist down on the execution button.

All the trial stands lock into place, too late for the others as they finally begin to react and try to open their stands.

Methuselah got up and began to approach me, scowling angrily. One swift kick to his crotch and he was down for the count.

All the podiums were flying around the rooms until they were in familiar positions. Everyone on either side of the room with the guilt party sitting across from the large doors. I run over to mine and climb my way in, not being interrupted by anyone.

The others were rattling at their stands or trying to climb out.

“Ark, no!” Erika yells. “You don’t have to do this!”

“It can be different!” Sacri assures. “Please, there’s still time to change things!”

“Don’t die! Please don’t die!” Jason demands.

I smile gently to everyone. “No...it’s okay, guys. Really. I...I know what I’m doing. This is what’s best...”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Victor demands.

“There are other options!” Benji yells.

I take a deep breath and let it out. Hiroshi groans and gets back onto his feet. “You...You bastard...get out of there now!”

The doors rumble open and my podium’s engine roars to life. Everyone was yelling at me, all begging me to stay alive. But then all I could hear was the screech of tires as my podium rockets off through the doors, sending me into darkness.

I was ready. I was ready for whatever execution was out there to face me.

**Ark Rogers has been found guilty.**

**Commencing the punishment...**

I was outside now on a windy day. I couldn’t say how, but I was. I stood at the bottom of a tall hill. It didn’t look impossible to climb, but I don’t think it would be an easy feat.

There was a small pedestal next to me. On it was...a globe? I was small, about the size of a basketball. On it was a note that read: TAKE ME TO THE TOP!

I look up. Top of the hill? What would happen when I got it up there? Would I be free of the execution? Was this Hiroshi’s plan? I didn’t have another choice. So I pick up the glove and begin walking. But...did it just get bigger?

**Carrying the Weight of the World on Your Back!**

I began my trek up the hill. I glance behind myself. The tower we had been trapped was there. I hadn’t moved that far away from it after all. It was bland and cylindrical from this end, but I was sure I’d see the hallway where our rooms were on the other side. Not like I’d be going over there with the giant electrical fence blocking the way off the hill. I could only go up.

The globe in my hands was definitely growing, getting heavier as it did. But it seemed slow. Barely something to worry about. It was a fake obstacle put in my way. Fake like everything we had been told up until the trial. Set up to make this damned audience feel like there’s a struggle being overcome.

I felt like the hill wouldn’t change anything when I heard it. The click of a gun. I look behind me. A stationed gatling gun was there, aimed right at me.

My eyes widen. My first instinct was to run. But...But I couldn’t. If I ran, it would just ruin everything. I couldn't run. Not now. I had to face this!

The gun whirls to life and fires. I close my eyes, ready to feel the hot metal tear through my body. But...nothing. I open my eyes. The gun was clicking lifelessly. Was...it jammed? Did those bastards rig that gun?!

I scowl and continue along my way. The gun wasn’t something to worry about then. How many more of their traps were fake?

I’d get my answer where the sound of hissing begins to come from the ground and a yellow gas comes out of it. But...it was windy. It just effortlessly blew away. I scowl angrily and continue on.

I kept walking. The globe was getting bigger and heavier. Carrying it in my arms was becoming increasingly difficult. I had to carry it on my back now. I could feel the weight of it baring down on me.

I heard a click from something in the ground as I walked. A mine? Did he bury explosives in the ground? I kept walking. It didn’t go off until I had moved too far away from it. I was over the halfway point on the hill and the growing weight on my back was becoming harder to bare.

As I got closer to the top, I heard what sounded like...chanting. Was I going crazy? I couldn’t actually be hearing—

“Ark...Ark...Ark! Ark! Ark! Ark! Ark! ARK! ARK! ARK! ARK! ARK!”

That was...my name. People were chanting my name. Was that the audience Hiroshi had been talking about? The people watching us? Was the world really chanting my name right now? There must be speakers somewhere I can’t see.

I keep moving up, going slowly. The world on my back was massive and heavy. It was nearly as tall as me and felt like a bag of bowling balls. But something was keeping me going, fighting through it as I made my way up.

More fake traps pretend to impede my progress. More chanting of my name pours out from somewhere. The top of the hill grew closer and closer as I walked. It was just more of the same empty crap.

I stop walking. I was nearly at the top of the hill now. A couple more steps, and I’d have won. I’d beat the execution, beat Hiroshi and Methuselah, beat despair itself. I’d give the world everything they wanted. A hope to stand behind. A hope to cheer for and connect with. A hope they could chant and celebrate. It was all they wanted...

...fuck what the world wanted.

The earth was starting to weigh me down. I could feel my legs shaking to stay up and my back aches with pain. I was on the verge of collapse. I couldn’t do this for much longer. And that was okay...

I look up at the sky. It was a bright blue. Fluffy clouds float past lazily in the breeze. Somewhere, I heard birds singing. It had been so long since I got to see the sky. It really was a beautiful day.

I smile softly. I felt a tear trickle down my face and I close my eyes. My knees buckle. My body collapses. And the weight of the world crushes be beneath it.

...

...........

..........................

Silence echoed in the trial room. None of the seven remaining people said a single word. The video had cut off as soon as Ark had disappeared from the screen beneath the massive weight he carried.

Hiroshi was the first to speak.

“That...That was...” He grits his teeth. He looked like he was in pain. But then a wide smile forced its way across his face and all that pain seemed to disappear. “That was perfectly hopeless! Not a shred remained! But can I even call that despair? Was that despair? Or was it pure emptiness? Whatever it was, it was amazing!”

Methuselah looks at Hiroshi, frowning. “But that wasn’t—“

Hiroshi gave Methuselah an odd look. The survivors had no idea what it meant, but it seemed to resonate with the other. Methuselah grins as well. “...yeah, you’re right.”

The survivors hadn’t said anything yet. They we’re all teary-eyed and shaking. Both Jason and Erika were openly crying.

“Can’t you two bastards just stop talking your crazy bullshit for one fucking second?!” Victor yells.

“WAAAAAAAH! Ark’s deeeeeead!” Erika wails.

“Not exactly the conclusion I expected, but a conclusion nonetheless,” Hiroshi says, ignoring the survivors. Him and Methuselah walk to the center of the room, where the podiums once stood.

“Let us out of here!” Sacri hisses.

“You won! J-Just let us go!” Benji yells.

The two masterminds continue to ignore the survivors. Instead, they look at the camera with wide grins.

“I hope our lovely audience enjoyed our truly hopeless Killing game!” Hiroshi says. “No hope! No despair! Just an empty nothing! That’s one hell of an ending!”

The two clasp hands and wave to the camera. A low rumbling begins to shake the tower and it only gets more intense.

“Farewell, everyone!” Methuselah says to the camera.

“Until next time!” Hiroshi adds.

The rumbling gets louder and closer. The survivors all brace themselves for the worst.

The globe hat had crushed Ark comes crashing through the doors that lead six off to their deaths. The survivors all scream and duck. Hiroshi and Methuselah didn’t react, even as the globe came barreling right for them. They just smiled and waved.

There’s another loud crash and the rumbling start to subside. The five survivors slowly look up. Their podiums click, opening up and releasing them.

The weight had come through the execution doors and crashed right through the opposite wall, leaving a large opening to the outside world. Amongst the dust and debris on the floor were two bloody smears starting in the center of the room and leading out the second hole in the wall. Hiroshi and Methuselah, the masterminds of the new Killing game, were finally dead.

**Chapter 6: A Despairing Hope, A Hopeful Despair, and a Bitter End to It All - Completed!**

~~Ark~~ , Benji, ~~Chrysta~~ , Jason, ~~Allison~~ , Erika, ~~Martha~~ , ~~Eddy~~ , ~~Satoshi~~ , ~~Ishida~~ , ~~Hiroshi~~ , ~~Methuselah~~ , ~~Yavin~~ , ~~Sukai~~ , ???, ~~Damond~~ , Victor


	45. Epilogue

The five survivors slowly moved off of their podiums and instinctively huddled up next to each other. Not a word was spoken between them and they were all completely quiet now.

The elevator pings, drawing their attention away from the destruction that laid before them. The doors slide open. Their stuff was sitting there and Fluffy came padding out, mewling loudly as he made his way over to Erika. She dutifully scoops him up in her arms, eliciting a purr from the cat.

The five make their way over to their belongings. Everything has been packed up into bags and suitcases they would recognize as their own. A sixth bag sat with them all. Unsurprisingly, it was Ark’s.

They all collect their things and stand in silence as they stare at the final bag.

“...we should take it with us,” Sacri says.

“What’s it matter? He’s dead now. And we aren’t going back up to get everyone’s junk. Not fair to take his only...” Victor says.

“Didn’t he say he had a sister?” Jason asks. “She might want it...”

“...someone is bound to come here and collect what’s left,” Benji says. “Let’s...Let’s just go...”

That seems to be convincing enough for the five students as they make their way toward the newly created exit.

They all carefully step out, blinking at the sudden brightness of the natural light. None of them seemed to be anywhere they recognized, but they could hear sirens in the distance. Police or so kind of emergency aid, most likely.

The weight stood in front of them, half seemed red and half dusted grey. They all looked it over quietly as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“...so...was Hiroshi telling the truth?” Erika asks. “About everything? Was this...Was this all..?”

“I don’t know,” Victor says. “I just...I don’t know. I don’t give a fuck.”

“Wh-What if it is?” Benji asks. “I...I can’t face my parents again...n-not after they just let this happen...”

“I’m not going home again,” Jason says softly.

“I don’t think I have a home anymore,” Sacri adds.

“...then I guess we’re just gonna stick together,” Victor says. “And we’ll figure things out from there.”

“The cars are getting closer...” Erika murmurs.

“Let's go then,” Sacri says. “If we wait here, they’ll make us go with them.”

The five begin to walk. They leave behind the tower. The wailing sirens. The grieving families whose loved ones laid inside the and their own family and friends who came to congratulate them. They left behind those meaningless words like hope and despair and all the baggage and pain that came with both.

They left it all behind. They only had one direction to go now. Forward, towards an unknown future with an unknown meaning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is short, but it only feels right to have it as its own chapter.
> 
> On another note—this is it! This is the canonical end of Fanganronpa: the Series! (Took me long enough, eh?)
> 
> But you read that right. This is the official way Nd for this series! But why am I specifying that? Weeeeell, this doesn’t mean I’m done writing killing games. I know, I know. I have six! How could I want more?! I’m a sucker when it comes to making plots and characters. Sue me, if you want!
> 
> I might make a one off. I might make an I offical continuation of some kind. Or I might not write another. Who really knows! Well, I do, but you don’t have to just yet!
> 
> Also, expect updates to some of the other stories. This includes: general dusting off for grammar and spelling, adding or removing details, or completely rewriting something!
> 
> And as a final note, thank you to anyone and everyone who hung through to the very end. This has been a very long winded series, but the fact that here are people out there that enjoyed what I wrote makes every second of it worth it! So thank you! People reading these and writing encouraging things are a bigger help than they might believe! I hope you all enjoyed the bumpy ride!


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